The Presidential Award is the greatest professional honor I could hope to receive. I’m excited about the opportunity to become acquainted with dedicated, talented, and creative colleagues from around the United States. I would love the chance to meet our education-minded President. To the extent that this recognition might open doors for me to contribute more fully in the areas of curriculum design, educational policy, and mentoring younger teachers, it would be a dream come true.

Peggy Bertrand Oak Ridge, TN | 7-12, Science, 2009

The official biography below was current at the time of the award.

Peggy Bertrand has taught at Oak Ridge High School for 11 years. She is primarily a Physics teacher but has taught Environmental Science and mathematics classes as well. Peggy runs a large Advanced Placement (AP) Physics program and teaches both trigonometry- and calculus-based AP Physics. It is important to her that students apply physics thinking to the broader world. Her recent article in the Science Teacher describes teaching fluid mechanics in the context of Hurricane Katrina. In fall 2009, she and her students were awarded a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeam grant to design and build a microscale hydroelectric generator that powers a small surface water purification system to produce potable water. They will demonstrate their invention at MIT’s EurekaFest in June 2010. Serving as an AP Physics reader and a consultant to the College Board has provided Peggy with the opportunity to meet other Physics teachers from around the country. She leads several workshops and summer institutes annually. Peggy has a B.S. in Chemistry from Southeastern Louisiana University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Florida State University. She had careers in chemical research and entrepreneurial software prior to receiving a teaching certificate from the University of Tennessee.

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