CU Boulder Department of Physics named inaugural recipient of the Carl E. Wieman Award for Excellence for sustained commitment to high-quality undergraduate education

The University of Colorado Boulder Department of Physics has received national recognition as an inaugural recipient of the Carl E. Wieman Award for Excellence, a new honor presented by the Association for Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU).  

The award recognizes research university departments and offices that demonstrate a sustained commitment to teaching excellence and high-quality undergraduate education. UERU also recognized the Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Academic Programs, Student Success, and Effectiveness at the University of Illinois Chicago with a Wieman award.

 

Carl E. Wieman, one of the CU Department of Physics' most distinguished faculty members, received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics while a faculty member, sharing the prize with CU Boulder physics professor and JILA fellow Eric Cornell. Photo: John Eisele

For the Department of Physics, the recognition reflects the department’s longstanding commitment to scientific discovery, physics education research and student success. It also carries special significance because the award is named for Carl E. Wieman, one of the department’s most distinguished faculty members.

Wieman received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics while a faculty member at CU Boulder, sharing the prize with CU Boulder physics professor and JILA fellow Eric Cornell. Their groundbreaking work achieved the world’s first Bose-Einstein condensate. Wieman and Cornell’s scientific accomplishments helped elevate CU Boulder’s international reputation in physics.

Wieman’s impact extends well beyond the laboratory. Following his Nobel Prize-winning research, he launched the PhET initiative focused on improving science education and went on to become an internationally recognized scholar of teaching and learning. He later returned to CU Boulder as a science education advisor and collaborator, helping advance efforts to improve teaching effectiveness and student learning across STEM disciplines.  

Today, his influence continues through research, mentorship and scholarship, including his recent book, How to Learn to Think Like a Skilled Engineer or Scientist and How to Teach It.

That legacy is reflected in the work now being recognized. According to UERU, the Department of Physics was selected for its leadership in rethinking teaching evaluation. Drawing on the department's internationally recognized contributions to physics education research, faculty leaders developed approaches that use multiple measures to evaluate instructional excellence and support effective teaching. Led by Vice Chair Noah Finkelstein and other faculty partners, the effort helped shape teaching evaluation reforms across multiple colleges at CU Boulder.

 

Carl Wieman, Katherine Eggert (interim dean, CU Boulder College of Arts and Sciences), Tobin Munsat, Noah Finkelstein and Erika Randall (dean and vice provost of undergraduate education, CU Boulder) celebrate the recognition on Monday, August 3, for CU Boulder's Department of Physics. Photo: John Eisele

“Our department is remarkable in its impact and commitment to excellence in all its activities including education, research and service,” Finkelstein said. “This community continues to innovate and keep our students at the center of what we do.  We are so grateful for this recognition from UREU - a national leader in advancing our collective capacities in undergraduate education.”

The department’s success has been strengthened through participation in national initiatives focused on undergraduate STEM education, including the AAU STEM Education Initiative, APLU’s Network of STEM Education Centers, the former Bay View Alliance and UERU’s Raising the Bar Initiative, and the Transforming Higher Education–Multidimensional Evaluation of Teaching project, which culminated in the 2026 Harvard Education Press book, Transforming College Teaching Evaluation: A Framework for Advancing Instructional Excellence.  

“This award is enormously meaningful for our department, especially because it bears Carl Wieman’s name,” said Tobin Munsat, chair of the Department of Physics. “Carl showed us that groundbreaking research and a deep commitment to teaching can, and should, go hand in hand. This recognition affirms our commitment to giving students the best education we can.”

Steven P. Dandaneau, UERU Executive Director and Associate Provost at Colorado State University, noted that both universities receiving the inaugural Carl E. Wieman Award for Excellence “demonstrate that excellence in undergraduate education is not the product of isolated innovators, but of intentional systems, leadership and accountability.” 

The recognition underscores the department’s role as a national leader in the ongoing effort to improve undergraduate education at research universities. "This award emphasizes accountability, an often-overlooked component of educational excellence," said Wieman. "By recognizing departments that have built systems to support and assess excellence in teaching and learning, this award shines a light on models worthy of attention and emulation." 

In many ways, the recognition comes full circle. An award named for a Nobel laureate whose career helped redefine both modern physics and science education now honors the department where much of that work began. For the department, which earned the No. 4 spot among public universities in the latest U.S. News & World Report graduate program rankings, the award reflects the department's longstanding commitment to research excellence, outstanding teaching and the education of future physicists. 

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