Staff Report
UNM physics and astronomy professor Michael Zeilik has been awarded the American Astronomical Society 2002 Education Prize.
Zeilik is known throughout the world's astronomical science communities for his innovations in astronomy education and astronomy workshops for in-service teachers and professors.
According to the American Astronomical Society, the award recognizes those who make outstanding contributions to the education of the public, students and/or the next generation of professional astronomers.
In awarding Zeilik the 2002 Prize, the selection committee commented: "For the past 30 years, Mike Zeilik has been an innovator in the field of astronomy education and science education more generally. He has led our profession in developing collaborations, both with other astronomy education faculty and with researchers in the area of science education."
Zeilik's current research focuses on learning and how to improve upon it in introductory classes for astronomy majors and students who are not majoring in science-related fields. To accomplish his education improvement goals, Zeilik has been awarded grants by the National Science Foundation and NASA.
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He also has been named a presidential lecturer at UNM, which is one of the highest awards for all-around performance by a faculty member.
The Harvard University alumnus has authored four books, more than 100 professional articles and has conducted more than 200 professional talks and presentations.
Zeilik is also a founding member of the Collaboration for Astronomy Education Research, the organization responsible for developing the Astronomy Diagnostic Test.
