Dean Zollman
University Distinguished Professor
Department of Physics

Dr. Dean Zollman is University Distinguished Professor and Distinguished University Teaching Scholar. For ten years begiinning in 2001 he was Head of the Department of Physics and William and Joan Porter Professor at Kansas State University.  In 2006 he was named KSU's Outstanding Department Head.

He has focused his scholarly activities on research and development in physics education since 1972. He has received three major awards – the National Science Foundations Director’s Award for Distinguished Teacher Scholars (2004), the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Doctoral University Professor of the Year (1996), and American Association of Physics Teachers’ Robert A. Millikan Medal (1995).  His present research concentrates on investigating the mental models and operations that students develop as they learn physics and how students transfer knowledge in the learning process.  He also applies cutting edge technology to the teaching physics and to providing instructional and pedagogical materials to physics teachers, particularly those teachers whose background does not include a significant amount of physics. He has twice been a Fulbright Fellow in Germany. In 1989 he worked at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich on development of measurement techniques for digital video. In 1998 he visited the Institute for Science Education at the University in Kiel where he investigated student understanding of quantum physics. During 2006-07 he returned to Germany and spent one semester at each Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich and IPN in Kiel where he conducted research on teaching of medical applications of physics and on teaching of quantum physics.  

 Dr. Zollman earned his PhD in Theoretical Nuclear Physics from the University of Maryland – College Park (1970) and his MS (1965) and BS (1964) from Indiana University – Bloomington.