E. F. (Joe) Redish

Contact Info:

Department of Physics, University of Maryland

Department of Physics, University of Maryland

College Park, MD 20742-4111

Phone: (301) 405-6120 (voice)
(301) 314-9531 (fax)

redish@umd.edu

Brief Bio:

Edward F. (Joe) Redish is a Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland in College Park. He received his undergraduate degree Magna Cum Laude from Princeton University and his Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics from M.I.T. in 1968. He has been at the University of Maryland ever since, and served as Chairman of the Department of Physics and Astronomy there from 1982-1985. His research in nuclear theory emphasized the theory of reactions and the quantum few-body problem. As a nuclear theorist he served on the national Nuclear Science Advisory Committee and served as Chair of the Program Committee for the Indiana University Cyclotron.  Since 1982 he has been actively involved in the subject of physics education. His current research effort is devoted entirely to physics education.

      Prof. Redish is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the AAAS, and the Washington Academy of Science. He has received awards for his work in education from the Washington Academy of Science, the Maryland Association for Higher Education, Dickinson College, Vanderbilt University, and the Robert A. Millikan Medal from the AAPT. In 2005, he received the NSF Director's award as a Distinguished Teaching Scholar.

Research Interests:

• Use of mathematics in physics
• Cognitive modeling of student understanding of physics
• Student expectations and epistemology

Currently Working On:

• Cognitive linguistics in PER
• Matching reforms in biology and physics
• Student blending of math and physics in advanced physics classes