PRISCILLA W. LAWS
Research Professor
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Dickinson College
Carlisle, PA 17013
(717) 245-1242
(717) 245-1642 (fax)
lawsp@dickinson.edu
Priscilla Laws received a B.A. from Reed College in 1961 and a
Ph.D. from Bryn Mawr College in 1966, where she studied nuclear
physics. She joined the faculty at Dickinson in 1965 and began
focusing her efforts on the health effects of radiation that led
to the publication of two consumer books on medical x-rays. Since
1986, she has dedicated herself to the development of
activity-based curricular materials and computer software to
enhance student learning in introductory physics courses. This
work has resulted in the publication of curricular materials
developed with members of the Activity-Based Physics Group and
published by John Wiley & Sons. These include the Workshop Physics
Activity Guide, Understanding Physics, and several RealTime
Physics Laboratory Modules. She is also the lead author of Physics
with Video Analysis, published by Vernier Software and Technology
in 2009.
She has received several national awards for educational
innovations and software design. These include a Charles A. Dana
award for Pioneering Achievement in Education (1994) and the
Robert A. Millikan Medal for notable and creative contributions
to the teaching of physics from the American Association of
Physics Teachers (1996). She has been promoting ways to use
physics research and education to enhance sustainable development
in Africa, Asia and Latin America. She received the International
Commission on Physics Education (ICPE) 2008 Medal in recognition
of distinguished contributions to Physics Education with far
reaching international impact. In 2010 she shared the American
Physical Society's Excellence in Physics Education award with
David Sokoloff and Ronald Thornton for "For twenty-three years
of national and international leadership in the design, testing,
validation, and dissemination of research-based introductory
physics curricula, computer tools and apparatus . . ."
Priscilla enjoys hiking and reading books of all kinds. Her recent
favorites (aside from her husband's book, Physics and the Art of
Dance) include Edward Wilson's Consilience, Mary Pavlesky's
Atomic Fragments, Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel, as well
Barbara Kingsolver's books, Poisonwood Bible and Small Wonder.
She also loves spending time with her grandchildren Adam, Kyra,
Hana and Daniel.