COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Dr. Tatiana Erukhimova, a physics professor at Texas A&M University, has been awarded the American Physical Society's (APS) Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach.
At an upcoming APS meeting, Erukhimova will be presented the Nicholson Medal, which is sponsored by friends of late plasma physicist Dwight R. Nicholson. The medal serves to recognize the humanitarian aspect of physics that is created through public lectures and research.
Erukhimova earned her Ph.D from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 1999. Prior to joining the Texas A&M Physics and Astronomy faculty, she served as an assistant research scientist in Atmospheric Sciences.
A professor and outreach coordinator since 2006, she was also the inaugural holder of the Chair for Physics Outreach. Through a Tuesday press release, Erukhimova is cited by the Nicholson Medal selection committee “for leadership in bringing the excitement of physics through innovative education programs, summer boarding schools for public high school teachers, the TAMU Physics and Engineering Festival, the Real Physics Live program, and online physics videos with more than 400 million views.”
In the same press release, Texas A&M professor and head of Physics and Astronomy, Dr. Grigory Rogachev, said, “We are very proud, delighted and lucky to have such an amazing educator and popularizer of science, national celebrity Professor Tatiana Erukhimova, as a faculty in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Her unquenchable energy and infectious enthusiasm for science inspires thousands of young explorers — an entire new generation of physicists. The highly prestigious award by the American Physical Society announced today is a welcome confirmation of what we all already know — ‘Dr. Tatiana,’ as she is known among the Texas A&M students, is one of a kind.”
Erukhimova has previously been recognized as Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence and Undergraduate Teaching Excellence. She is known for involving undergraduates and graduates in physics education research and for transforming the relationships that students have with physics.
Her passion for inspiring learning through science has pushed the development of several programs at Texas A&M, including the annual Physics and Engineering Festival.
Within the past two years, Erukhimova has drawn a massive following to the university's Physics and Astronomy social media accounts through her viral physics demonstration videos. Her popularity has resulted in appearances on CBS Mornings, ABC News, The Jennifer Hudson Show and both broadcast and print interviews.
Erukhimova has received many honors throughout her career, including the 2021 Provost Teaching Excellence Award and the 2019 Fish Camp Namesake.
The American Physical Society is a nonprofit organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy and international activities. The APS represents more than 50,000 members, including physicists in academia, in the United States and throughout the world.
Learn more about Erukhimova or outreach programs within Texas A&M Physics and Astronomy.
