PERG Moved from UMass to UNCG

The UMass Physics Education Research Group has moved from UMass to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

As of June 2008, Prof. William Gerace retired from UMass after 30 years in the Department of Physics and 16 years as Director of SRRI. He moved to Greensboro, North Carolina, and accepted a position as the first Helena Gabriel Houston Distinguished Professor of Science Education at UNCG. In addition to teaching in the UNCG Department of Physics & Astronomy, he pursues a vigorous agenda of promoting science education research, teaching, and outreach.

In January 2009, Prof. Ian Beatty accepted a position as Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics & Astronomy at UNCG. He continues his association with SRRI as a Visiting Scholar, spending about one week per month in residence to continue working with the staff and participating secondary school teachers of the Teacher Learning of Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment (TLT) project.

In August 2009, Prof. William Leonard will also join the UNCG Department of Physics & Astronomy as Associate Professor, where — in addition to Physics Education Research and his association with the TLT project — he will continue his Engineering Education Research in collaboration with North Carolina Agricultural & Technological University.

One of the group's top agenda items is to build a graduate program in Physics Education Research and cross-disciplinary Science Education Research at UNCG.