5 Sigma Physicist Honor
Every year, APS celebrates a select group of members with the 5 Sigma Physicist Honor for outstanding advocacy or public engagement work. The APS 5 Sigma Physicist Honor recognizes APS members who engage in exceptional volunteer advocacy or public outreach to help advance APS’s science policy and public engagement priorities. Honorees must demonstrate substantial and impactful advocacy actions with APS Government Affairs (GA) or Public Engagement (PE) throughout the year.
Rules and eligibility
Only APS members are eligible for the 5 Sigma Physicist Honor. Honorees must volunteer on behalf of APS advocacy issues or public engagement initiatives and work closely with APS Government Affairs or Public Engagement throughout the year prior to being recognized with this honor.
Process and selection
5 Sigma honorees are chosen by the APS Government Affairs and Public Engagement teams. The teams select volunteers who take substantial and impactful advocacy or public engagement actions, going above-and-beyond in multiple activities or devoting substantial time and effort to one project.
Establishment and support
APS has been honoring exceptional advocacy efforts undertaken by our members for over 10 years. Created to recognize outstanding advocacy of APS members who go above and beyond to advance issues that are important to the physics community, the 5 Sigma Honor also encourages APS members to volunteer and advocate on behalf of physics.
Recent recipients
Steven Baksa
2025 recipient
Advocating for physics by participating in 11 of APS’s digital grassroots campaigns.
Mario Borunda
2025 recipient
Meeting with congressional offices during Venture Fund Leadership Hill Day to convey the importance of protecting STEM workforce development programs.
Eric Burkholder
2025 recipient
Advocating on Capitol Hill for federal science funding by meeting one-on-one with the D.C. offices of Senator Tommy Tuberville, Senator Katie Britt, and Representative Mike Rogers, which was integral to APS's advocacy efforts that helped restore almost $10B to key federal science agencies.
Margaret Byron
2025 recipient
Initiating and coordinating volunteer staffing of an action table at the Division of Fluid Dynamics 2025 meeting, resulting in more than 300 letters being sent to Congress on APS’s policy priorities.
Paul Cadden-Zimansky
2025 recipient
Volunteering to help middle and high school teachers develop ready-to-use, age-appropriate quantum science lessons during a daylong teacher professional development event at the Global Physics Summit; supporting the global event coordination, social media content, and public communication efforts for the International Year of Quantum.
APS Honors recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of the global physics community. Guided by our core values, APS Honors encourages nominations that reflect the full range of talent, distinction, and experience in our field, and supports broad canvassing for professional achievement across diverse backgrounds, perspectives, and expertise.
Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Standards. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.