Culbert and Human receive the 2025-2026 Leigh Page Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
The Leigh Page Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching recognizes broad and impactful contributions to physics education at Yale, both within our department and the broader community. The 2025-2026 academic year winners are Allison Culbert, a graduate student in Alison Sweeney’s lab, and Theophilus Human, a graduate student working in Jack Harris’ lab.
Culbert’s citation reads, “For her dedication and many years experience as a WiP+ tutor and undergraduate mentor, as program coordinator for Girls Science Investigations and multiple years as TF for Physics 165/166. In those roles, she has been an influential mentor to both young scientists and peer educators. Her mature and thoughtful teaching philosophy is rooted in meeting students where they and crafting a welcoming environment for all types of learners with varying levels of scientific expertise and comfort.”
Culbert has also had a long standing interest in physics education research (PER) and pedagogy, which started as an undergrad. As an undergrad she learned PER from leaders in the field, and which shaped her teaching as a ULA while at Tufts and has a strong influence on her teaching philosophy today.
Culbert commented, “It is an honor to receive the Leigh Page Award for graduate student teaching. Teaching and mentoring undergraduates has been one of my favorite parts about graduate school. It has been a very rewarding experience, and I am grateful for the department’s support of graduate students pursuing teaching opportunities alongside our research responsibilities. I have also cherished the opportunity to participate in such great outreach events that the department has put on throughout my years here.”
Human’s citation reads, “For his strong track record as an diligent, approachable and dedicated TF in Yale physics courses, who goes above and beyond in supporting the students in their learning and the supporting instructors in running of the courses. Also of note are his many leadership roles for community outreach events, including YPO, the Yale Warrior Scholars Program, and Pathways summer programming.”
Human has been a leader in designing events for YPO for several years. He has brough high school students to campus for science demos and lab tours, served as a project supervisor for the Warrior Scholars program, and also working with Paul Noel and Caitlin Hansen on the Pathways summer workshop series.
Human commented, “It’s an honor to receive the Leigh Page Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching. I have been very fortunate to learn from and work alongside so many outstanding faculty, staff, and students during my time at Yale. I am grateful to be part of a department that provides exceptional support for the learning process and places a strong emphasis on inviting the broader public into the world of physics.”
The Leigh Page Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching seeks to acknowledge and celebrate excellence in graduate student teaching, distinct among the already high standard of teaching that graduate students in the physics department consistently achieve. This award will support the Yale Physics graduate program learning goal that “Students will become educators and communicators with the ability to promote an understanding and appreciation of physics across the university and in society,” and help solidify in our community that effective and informed teaching is one of our core values.