Raised in upstate New York, Fred Myers’ formal pursuit of physics began at Vestal Central High School and continues to this day. While earning a BA in physics from SUNY Geneseo and a MA in physics at SUNY Stony Brook, he recognized that he had a passion for explaining the fundamentals of physics to others. He changed direction from his original goal of pursuing a PhD in Astrophysics and conducting research, to become a high school physics teacher.

Fred was in public and independent schools for 42 years before “retiring”. He taught physics for 33 years in a wide variety of high schools: Freeport H.S. (Freeport, NY), Choate Rosemary Hall (Wallingford, CT), Greenwich H.S. (Greenwich, CT), and Farmington H.S. (Farmington, CT) where he also served as Science Department Chair. During his last 9 years as a formal educator he served as Director of Science, an administrative position in Glastonbury Public Schools (Glastonbury, CT). In the 6 years since he “retired” he has been the Lead Subject Matter Expert for Great Minds, an innovative K-12 publishing company.

Fred is probably best known for his advocacy and leadership for the teaching/learning of the “right-side-up” science sequence in high school … often called physics first. He taught physics to 9th graders (and younger) for a total of 27 years.

Other professional leadership roles include being co-founder and president of the Connecticut Association of Physics Teacher, president of the Association of Presidential Awardees in Science Teachers, president of the Connecticut Science Supervisors Association, and a Fellow of the Project to Improve Mastery is Math and Science. Major awards have included the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Teaching, Milken Family Foundation Award, AAPT’s Janet Guernsey Award, and the Christa McAuliffe Award.