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Congratulations to the PhET Interactive Simulations team, who took home one of two prizes from the . The PhET Simulation project will share a $50,000 price with PaGamO, the world's first multi-student social game.

Founded in 2002 by Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, PhET provides more than 130 free interactive math and science computer simulations that are based on extensive education research and support more effective and engaging education. Going beyond traditional educational resources, PhET simulations offer an intuitive, game-like environment where students can learn through scientist-like exploration, where dynamic visual representations make the invisible visible, and where science ideas are connected to real-world phenomena.

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), publisher of the , developed the global Wharton-QS Stars competition to identify the most innovative approaches in higher education to enhance learning and student employability in partnership with The Wharton School SEI Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

For more information, view the .

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The Â鶹ӰԺ is delighted to announce that Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman is returning to CU this fall to serve in a part-time appointment as the Senior Advisor to the PhET Interactive Simulations Project, which he founded in 2002. He will also join the faculty at Stanford University, in a split appointment between their Department of Physics and School of Education.  

Dr. Wieman joined the faculty at CU Department of Physics and JILA in 1984. His research in atomic, molecular and optical physics has been recognized with many international awards—including the 2001 Nobel Prize in Physics—with CU Physics Professor Adjoint and JILA Fellow Eric Cornell and Wolfgang Ketterle of MIT, for their creation of the first Bose-Einstein Condensate in 1995. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995. In 2005, Professor Wieman created CU's  to study and improve student learning in science. He was chosen as the National Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation in 2004, and was awarded the Oersted Medal by the American Association of Physics Teachers in 2006.

Dr. Wieman founded the  Interactive Simulations project at Â鶹ӰԺ in 2002 (). Using extensive research on how people learn, the PhET project has created over 125 interactive simulations that are increasing both student achievement and engagement in science and mathematics. These simulations offer intuitive, open exploratory environments where students can engage in inquiry, build connection to the real world, develop their conceptual understanding, and see the invisible. PhET simulations have been translated into over 70 languages and are used over 40 million times per year by teachers and students worldwide. The project has won several prestigious international awards, including the Microsoft Education Award at the 2011 Tech Awards, an international award recognizing technology benefiting humanity.   

"We are delighted to have Carl back at CU working with PhET," Paul Beale, Chair of the Department of Physics said. "His leadership and vision for science education has been transformative for CU and the nation. PhET is one of our stellar programs, both in terms of research activity and in the way it is transforming science education for students around the world."

Dr. Kathy Perkins, Director of PhET says "Carl is great to work with, and I'm very excited to be able to partner with him once again to advance PhET's impact on STEM education over the next 10 years. The expertise in science education and education research that he brings to the project are absolutely invaluable."

From 2007-2013 Professor Wieman held faculty appointments at CU-Â鶹ӰԺ and at the University of British Columbia, directing the Carl Wieman Science Education Initiative. His CU-Â鶹ӰԺ appointment during that period included serving as the Director of the CU Science Education Initiative. Starting in 2010, Dr. Wieman served as the Associate Director for Science in the U.S. White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). 

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Congratulations to the  for being selected as the winner of the $50,000 Microsoft Education Award at the 2011 Tech Awards banquet in San Jose, California.

The Tech Awards: Technology Benefiting Humanity, awarded five $50,000 prizes to international pacesetters. Kathy Perkins, Director of PhET Interactive Simulations in the University of Colorado Department of Physics, accepted the award on behalf of the CU PhET team.

"On behalf of the entire PhET team, I thank those who make these awards possible – to everyone at the Tech museum and Santa Clara University, to the judges and mentors, to Applied Materials, and a special thanks to Microsoft," says Perkins. "This award will enable us to build a new online teacher support center. We urge everyone to share these simulations with teachers and students around the world. Together, we can work to advance science literacy and education worldwide."

The Tech Awards, a signature progrram of The Tech Museum in San Jose, California, selected PhET from among hundreds of nominations representing 54 countries. Fifteen innovators from around the world who were recognized for applying technology in practical ways to resolve some of the world's most challenging issues. The fifteen laureate finalists spent a week in Silicon Valley meeting with business leaders and philanthropists. Five programs, including PhET, were awarded $50,000 top pizes.

Earlier this month, . On Thursday, PhET was selected as the $50,000 prize recipient of the Microsoft Education Award.

PhET was created by Carl Wieman in 2002 to make science accessible and meaningful to everyone. PhET was designed to provide fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free. PhET has created over 100 simulations for teaching and learning science and math. Going beyond traditional educational resources, PhET simulations offer an intuitive, game-like environment where students can learn through scientist-like exploration, where dynamic visual representations make the invisible visible, and where science ideas are connected to real-world phenomena. These simulations are widely used by K12 and university students and instructors worldwide.

With an easy translation process, PhET simulations have been translated into 64 languages by volunteer teachers and scientists throughout the world, allowing students to access these high-quality science teaching and learning tools in their own language. In 2011, the simulations will be used more than 22 million times, reaching over 200 countries and territories around the world.

PhET has been generously supported by Carl Wieman, the Hewlett Foundation, the O’Donnell Foundation, the National Science Foundation, King Saud University, the Kavli Foundation, and the University of Colorado.

Tech Awards Video

[video:http://www.youtube.com/v/vDl_dddNqPs?version=3&hl=en_US]

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Congratulations to CU's PhET program, which has been selected as a 2011 Tech Award Laureate. PhET is one of three laureates for the Microsoft Education Award.

, a signature program of , and presented by Applied Materials, Inc., selected PhET from among hundreds of nominations representing 54 countries.

PhET is a prestigious program designed to provide fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free. Simulations are available online, or via CD-Rom.

According to PhET's News Release, "Since 2002, PhET has created over 100 simulations for teaching and learning science and math. Going beyond traditional educational resources, PhET simulations offer an intuitive, game-like environment where students can learn through scientist-like exploration, where dynamic visual representations make the invisible visible, and where science ideas are connected to real-world phenomena. These simulations are widely used by K12 and university students and instructors worldwide. With an easy translation process, PhET simulations have been translated into 64 languages by volunteer teachers and scientists throughout the world, allowing students to access these high-quality science teaching and learning tools in their own language. In 2011, the simulations will be used more than 22 million times, reaching over 200 countries and territories around the world."

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