Samuel Wheeler Raleigh, NC | 7-12, Science, 2005

Samuel "Sam" Wheeler has been an educator for 29 years and has spent the last 12 years teaching physics, Advanced Placement Physics, and Elements of Satellite Design at the North Carolina School of Science and Math. He began his teaching career by teaching science at Madison High School and then teaching AP Physics and Chemistry at Southeast Raleigh Magnet and Enloe Magnet High Schools. Sam's love of experiential and interdisciplinary education motivated him to create and run courses that take students to unique environments around the world. These include learning about particle physics at CERN and doing wildlife surveys during winter at Yellowstone Park, among many others. Sam seeks out unique professional development opportunities that can directly be adapted to the classroom. He is a firm believer that by showing students how science connects to the real world in ways that engage them, they will become more excited and interested in science. His various opportunities helped him develop lessons and curricula that feed his desire to create unique lessons. In 2004, Sam was a finalist for NASA's Educator Astronaut program and, although not selected, his experiences with NASA continue to serve him even today. He is a licensed lunar sample handler and has flown experiments on a Zero-G flight. He was an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy, and recently was one of 42 educators from around the world selected to take part in CERN's International Teacher Workshop. Among his degrees, Sam has an M.S. in Applied Math from Western Carolina University and a Ph.D. in Science (Physics) Education from North Carolina State University. He is National Board Certified in Physics.

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