Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) is proud to announce that our very own Physics Professor Dr. Dwain Desbien has been named the recipient of the American Association of Physics Teachers’ Melba Newell Phillips Medal. Named for Dr. Melba Newell Phillips, the first graduate student of J. Robert Oppenheimer to receive a degree in theoretical physics and the first female president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, or AAPT, the medal has been awarded since 1982, but only 18 individuals have earned it.
“It is only given when the Awards Committee feels like there is a deserving person for the award,” said former AAPT President and 2015 Melba Newell Phillips Medal awardee Thomas O’Kuma, who nominated Dr. Desbien for the award.
Dr. Desbien, who joined EMCC in 2001 to develop the Physics Program, has been a member of AAPT for more than two decades. He received the award for his pioneering work in modeling pedagogy, his transformative impact on the professional development of physics educators nationwide, his decades of creative leadership and dedicated service to AAPT, and his work advancing physics education and inspiring generations of teachers and students.
He has provided intellectual leadership in National Science Foundation (NSF) programs in two-year college and high school professional development, as well as personal leadership and intellectual property contributions in creating pedagogical reforms. He has represented AAPT at several NSF Advanced Technology Education annual leadership meetings and has been active in the Arizona Section of AAPT.
Some of his collaborative contributions in project leadership centered in AAPT include: Organization for Physics at Two-Year Colleges (OPTYCS), decades of Two-Year College (TYC) Workshops across the nation, TYC New Faculty programs, summer workshops, and many modeling summer sessions. He has undertaken leadership roles on AAPT committees, has published in The Physics Teacher (TPT), and has served as a coeditor for a monthly TPT column called “TYC Tidbits” since 2024.
“Dwain has made outstanding contributions to the method of teaching physics, of how students learn physics, and to the professional development of K-12, two-year college, and undergraduate physics faculty,” O’Kuma said. “He is certainly deserving of this award.”
EMCC’s Dean of Academic and Workforce Programs Dr. Becky Baranowski, who wrote a letter in support of Dr. Desbien’s nomination, said she’s a better educator because of him.
“Dwain made a huge impact on me and my teaching practices, especially when we taught together in the Calculus/Physics learning community,” she said. “It’s one thing to hear advice about teaching, but it’s entirely different to be in the same room observing, collaborating, and tag-teaming to support student learning.”
Dr. Desbien didn’t even know he had been nominated and said he never really thought he’d be considered for such an honor.
“I was shocked and humbled,” he said. “Many of the previous winners were people I admired and looked up to for how to be a physics faculty.”
The Melba Phillips Medal comes with a $5,000 monetary award and travel expenses to the AAPT National Meeting this January in Las Vegas, where he will be honored. He’ll be using the cash award to fund a trip to London with his wife, Joana Desbien, who works in EMCC’s Student Business Services, next September.
Past recognitions Dr. Desbien has received from the AAPT include the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT (2011); AAPT Fellow (2014); the Paul W. Zitzewitz Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (2015); and the David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching (2015).
About the Award
The Melba Newell Phillips Medal honors the legacy of Melba Phillips, a physicist, educator, and advocate for science education. The medal is awarded infrequently and only to individuals whose careers reflect Phillips’ commitment to advancing physics education and her leadership in the field. The list of previous award recipients can be found at http://www.aapt.org/Programs/awards/phillips.cfm.
About AAPT
Founded in 1930, the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) is an international organization dedicated to advancing the teaching and understanding of physics. Through its programs, publications, and awards, AAPT supports educators, students, and scientists to improve physics education at all levels. For more information, visit www.aapt.org.