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Noah Finkelstein
University of Colorado at Boulder
Noah Finkelstein is a Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and conducts research is in physics education, specifically studying the conditions that support students’ interests and abilities in physics – developing models of context. He is a PI in the Physics Education Research (PER) group and a director of CU’s Center for STEM Learning. He is involved in education policy serving on many national boards, as Trustee of the Higher Learning Commission, is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, and a Presidential Teaching Scholar and the inaugural Timmerhaus Teaching Ambassador for the University of Colorado system.
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Noah Finkelstein received a Bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Yale University and his PhD. for work in applied physics from Princeton University. He is currently a Professor of Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder and conducts research is in physics education. He serves as one of the directors of the Physics Education Research (PER) group at Colorado, one of the largest research groups in physics education in the country. Finkelstein is also a director of the national-scale Center for STEM Learning, which has become one of eight national demonstration sites for the Association of American Universities’ STEM Education Initiative.
Finkelstein’s research focuses on studying the conditions that support students’ interest and ability in physics – developing models of context. These research projects range from the specifics of student learning particular concepts to the departmental and institutional scales of sustainable educational transformation. This research has resulted in over 120 publications, and nearly 450 public presentations.
Finkelstein has been a key figure in building the physics education research community in the United States. Recently he has also been establishing a national network among university-based centers of STEM education, in partnership with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU).
Finkelstein is increasingly involved in policy, and in 2010, he testified before the US Congress on the state of STEM education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Finkelstein has and continues to serve on many national boards in physics education, including: inaugural member (2006) and vice-Chair (2008) of the Physics Education Research Leadership Organizing Council, and Chair (2011, 2012) of the Committee on Education of the American Physical Society (APS), inaugural past-chair (2014) of the APS Topical Group on PER, and Chair of the AAPT Public Policy Committee (2008-) and APS Education Policy Committee (2012, 2016). He serves on the Board of Trustees for the Higher Learning Commission, which accredits more than 1,000 institutions of higher education in the U.S. (2014-), is a member of the Technical Advisory Board for the AAU’s new Initiative for Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (2011-), and very involved in APLU’s efforts in the Science and Mathematics Teacher Imperative.
In 2007 he won the campus-wide teaching award; in 2009 he won the campus Diversity and Excellence award; in 2010 he won the campus Graduate Advising Award; in 2011,2012,and 2015 he won a campus Outreach Award and was elected Fellow of the American Physical Society (2011); in 2012 was named Presidential Teaching Scholar for the University of Colorado system; and he is inaugural Timmerhaus Teaching Ambassador for the University of Colorado system (2015 and 2016).
More information
on Noah: http://spot.colorado.edu/~finkelsn
on PER: http://per.colorado.edu
on the Center for STEM Learning; http://www.colorado.edu/csl
Contact:
303 735 6082
Website Content Contributions
Essay (1)
Not everything that can be counted counts: or how I learned to quit worrying and love the evaluation. part of Network of STEM Education Centers:Workshops and Webinars:Workshop 2016: STEM Center Toolkit Workshop:Essays
Noah Finkelstein, Center for STEM Learning (CSL) "Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted" – Cameron 1963 "If you don't know where you are ...
Other Contributions (11)
A Journey of Change Vigilance - Stewarding teaching evaluation transformation from faculty grassroots work to college-wide directives into a Center for Teaching and Learning part of Transforming Institutions Conference 2023:Program:Poster Presentations
A long-standing department-level teaching evaluation change effort at the University of Colorado Boulder recently transitioned from opt-in to two top-down college-wide initiatives which are now in the process of ...
