Two students from Illinois State University have won national scholarships from the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT).
Naomi Satoh and Colin Hobart are winners of the Barbara Lotze Scholarship for Future Physics Teachers.
“The Lotze Scholarship is among the most prestigious awards in the country for students preparing to be physics educators,” said Dr. Matt Caplan of the Department of Physics. “It’s incredible that not one, but two, ISU students have been recognized this way.”
Kenneth Wester, coordinator of the physics education teacher program at Illinois State, said the University now has a total of seven winners of the scholarship. “That is more than any other institution where awards have been made,” said Wester.
Naomi Satoh
Satoh is a third-year physics teacher education major from Schaumburg, Illinois, and is receiving the Lotze Scholarship for the second time, having previously won it in 2022. “My interdisciplinary research looks to create more inclusive, diverse, and equitable spaces for underrepresented groups in physics,” said Satoh, who is studying with Dr. Cassie Herbert of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program.
Satoh’s inspiration for the award is her Hoffman Estates High School physics teacher, Logan Nelson, who also won the same national scholarship when he attended Illinois State. “I hope to be a figure and model for historically underrepresented students in physics in my future classroom and have an impact on my students, the way Mr. Nelson had on me,” said Satoh.
Working as a teaching assistant at Illinois State, Satoh also serves as the diversity chair for the Physics Club.
Colin Hobart
Hobart is a junior physics teacher education major from Palos Heights, Illinois, who is minoring in mathematics and chemistry. Also honored as a Golden Apple Scholar, Hobart is committed to teaching in a high-needs school. “I want to make my physics classroom a fun and enriching experience for all my students,” he said.
Along with his Illinois State instructors, Hobart looks to Amos Alonzo Stagg High School for his mentors. “At Stagg, my physics teacher Aron Kopera and my APUSH teacher Jennifer Baniewicz inspired me to pursue a career in science education,” said Hobart. He is also involved with Illinois State sports clubs.
Working as a teaching assistant at Illinois State, Hobart also serves as the treasurer for Roundnet Club, Men’s Club Volleyball, and the Sport Clubs Executive Board.
Winners of the scholarships, supported by an endowment funded by Barbara Lotze, receive a stipend of up to $3,000 and a complimentary AAPT Student Membership for one year. The scholarship may be granted to an individual for each of four years.
Applicants must declare their intent to prepare for, and engage in, a career in physics teaching at the high school level and show promise of success in their studies.
Find out more about the Lotze Scholarship, and the Physics Teacher Education Program at Illinois State.
