Vashti Sawtelle, associate professor of physics at Michigan State University, has been elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. This honor is considered one of the most prestigious recognitions in the field of physics and is awarded to no more than one half of one percent of the Society’s membership each year.
The APS Fellowship Program was created for those in the physics community to recognize professional peers who have contributed to advances in physics through original research and publication, innovative applications, teaching of physics, or and service and participation in the APS.
Sawtelle, a faculty member in the MSU Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Physics and Astronomy, was nominated “for foundational research on self-efficacy, introductory physics for life sciences, and community college student persistence; for broadening participation and promoting engagement among all physics students; and for enduring contributions to the rigorous use of qualitative methods.”
Sawtelle is a physics education researcher who studies how learning environments support (or inhibit) students from diverse backgrounds in their physics learning. Co-director of the MSU Physics Education Research Lab, she focuses her National Science Foundation-funded work on supporting community college transfer students to transition to four-year universities and understanding the role classroom environments play in creating supportive learning environments for all students.
Sawtelle has explored how students develop self-efficacy to do science, how that contributes to the development of science identities, and how those identities are related to issues of equity in the science community. In Lyman Briggs she teaches the introductory physics course which builds on her research in creating inclusive learning communities for students who are often life science majors, who are not necessarily physics majors.
“Since my role as Vashti's advisor in 2007, I’ve seen her research reflect her character as an exceptional individual," writes Eric Brewe, professor of physics and science education at Drexel University, who was one of Sawtelle's APS nominators. "She has worked to make physics accessible to underrepresented students, focusing on self-efficacy, particularly for women in physics. Now, she works with two-year colleges to improve outcomes for underserved students transferring to four-year programs. Vashti is truly inspiring and deserving of this honor.”
Sawtelle’s excellence in teaching and dedication to impactful research has earned many recognitions and awards within Michigan State University including the Teacher-Scholar Award (2018), the Spirit of Ability Award (2019), and the AT&T Teaching with Technology Award (2023). In 2022, she was awarded Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Michigan Association of State Universities.
Sawtelle has been a faculty member at Michigan State University since 2014, after a postdoctoral research position at the University of Maryland, College Park. She received her doctorate in physics education from Florida International University and her bachelor of arts degree in physics from Grinnell College.
“It is a great honor to me as a physicist and member of the physics education research community to be selected as an APS Fellow for the work I’ve been doing for more than a decade,” Sawtelle writes. “As a scholar who studies how to build a more supportive and inclusive physics community, being nominated for this award by my peers is so meaningful. I am grateful to the community that has supported me in my career and to my mentors who have paved a path for me in the broader field of physics.”
This story originally appeared on the Lyman Briggs College website.
