The Oersted Medal recognizes notable contributions to the teaching of physics. Established in 1936, it is awarded by the American Association of Physics Teachers. The award is named for Hans Christian Ørsted. It is the Association's most prestigious award.
Well-known recipients include Nobel laureates Robert Andrews Millikan, Edward M. Purcell, Richard Feynman, Isidor I. Rabi, Norman F. Ramsey, Hans Bethe, and Carl Wieman; as well as Arnold Sommerfeld, George Uhlenbeck, Jerrold Zacharias, Philip Morrison, Melba Phillips, Victor Weisskopf, Gerald Holton, John A. Wheeler, Frank Oppenheimer, Robert Resnick, Carl Sagan, Freeman Dyson, Daniel Kleppner, and Lawrence Krauss, and Anthony French, David Hestenes, Robert Karplus, Robert Pohl, and Francis Sears.
The 2008 medalist, Mildred S. Dresselhaus, is the third woman to win the award in its 70-plus-year history.
Medalists
William Suddards Franklin - 1936
Edwin Herbert Hall - 1937
Alexander Wilmer Duff - 1938
Benjamin Harrison Brown - 1939
Robert Andrews Millikan - 1940
Henry Crew - 1941
not awarded in 1942
George Walter Stewart - 1943
Roland Roy Tileston - 1944
Homer Levi Dodge - 1945
Ray Lee Edwards - 1946
Duane Roller - 1947
William Harley Barber - 1948
Arnold Sommerfeld - 1949
Orrin H. Smith - 1950
John Wesley Hornbeck - 1951
Ansel A. Knowlton - 1952
Richard M. Sutton - 1953
Clifford N. Wall - 1954
Vernet E. Eaton - 1955
George E. Uhlenbeck - 1956
Mark W. Zemansky - 1957
Jay William Buchta - 1958
Paul Kirkpatrick - 1959
Robert W. Pohl - 1960
Jerrold R. Zacharias - 1961
Francis W. Sears - 1962
Francis L. Friedman - 1963
Walter Christian Michels - 1964
Philip Morrison - 1965
Leonard I. Schiff - 1966
Edward M. Purcell - 1967
Harvey E. White - 1968
Eric M. Rogers - 1969
Edwin C. Kemble - 1970
Uri Haber-Schaim - 1971
Richard P. Feynman - 1972
Arnold Arons - 1973
Melba N. Phillips - 1974
Robert Resnick - 1975
Victor F. Weisskopf - 1976
H. Richard Crane - 1977
Wallace A. Hilton - 1978
Charles Kittel - 1979
Paul E. Klopsteg - 1979, Extraordinary Oersted Medal Award
Gerald Holton - 1980
Robert Karplus - 1981
I. I. Rabi - 1982
John A. Wheeler - 1983
Frank Oppenheimer - 1984
Sam Treiman - 1985
Stanley S. Ballard - 1986
Clifford E. Swartz - 1987
Norman F. Ramsey - 1988
Anthony P. French - 1989
Carl E. Sagan - 1990
Freeman Dyson - 1991
Eugen Merzbacher - 1992
Hans A. Bethe - 1993
E. Leonard Jossem - 1994
Robert Beck Clark - 1995
Donald F. Holcomb - 1996
Daniel Kleppner - 1997
Edwin F. Taylor - 1998
David L. Goodstein - 1999
John G. King - 2000
Lillian C. McDermott - 2001
David Hestenes - 2002
Edward W. Kolb - 2003
Lawrence Krauss - 2004
Eugene D. Commins - 2005
Kenneth W. Ford - 2006
Carl Wieman - 2007
Mildred S. Dresselhaus - 2008
George Smoot - 2009
Not Awarded - 2010
F. James Rutherford - 2011
Charles H. Holbrow - 2012
Edward F. Redish - 2013
Dean Zollman - 2014
Karl C. Mamola - 2015
John Winston Belcher - 2016
Jan Tobochnik - 2017
Barbara L. Whitten - 2018
Gay Stewart - 2019