The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has recognized Aaron Titus, a teaching professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, with the 2026 David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching.

Titus is being honored for building and bolstering undergraduate physics programs, his excellence in teaching large classes, and his mentorship of students and faculty. The award also recognizes his contributions to physics education. These include co-developing the online learning platform WebAssign; participating in the Open Source Physics project; and co-authoring the fifth edition of the introductory physics textbook Matter & Interactions. 

Titus taught at High Point University for 20 years before joining NC State in 2022. At High Point, he helped develop a physics degree program and subsequently a physics department. He served as its first chair. Titus won an Outstanding Teacher Award at NC State in 2025. He has been an active AAPT member since 1995 and served as the four-year college representative on the organization’s board of directors from 2013-2016. In AAPT’s North Carolina section, he has served as an officer, presented workshops and award-winning talks, and hosted several section meetings. In 2019, he won the Homer L. Dodge Citation for Distinguished Service to AAPT. Titus earned his Ph.D. in physics from NC State in 1998.

The Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award was established in 1993 and was renamed the David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching in 2010. That year, the award was also endowed by John Wiley & Sons.  

This announcement was adapted from the original press release by AAPT.