Aaron Debbink, a graduate student in the Ball State University Department of Physics and Astronomy, has been named a 2006 Knowles Fellow by the Knowles Science Teaching Foundation (KSTF). 

Aaron is a 2003 graduate of Taylor University where he earned a bachelors degree in Engineering Physics.  He taught one year at King's Academy in Gas City, Indiana, before entering the physics graduate program at Ball State in the summer of 2003.  Since that time he has been pursuing his master's degree in physics and working toward certification in physical science teaching.

KSTF Teaching Fellows are young men and women who have received a bachelor's or advanced degree in science, engineering or mathematics and are committed to teaching high school science and/or mathematics in U.S. schools. The fellowship supports them professionally and financially for up to five years through a teacher preparation program to eligibility for tenure.

The KSTF Teaching Fellows program was introduced in 2002 due to the fact that nearly half of the nation's secondary teachers leave the profession in their first five years.  For science and mathematics teachers it was found that beginning teachers experienced a sense of professional isolation and a lack of support and mentoring.   The KSTF program was designed to provide experiences and financial support to beginning teachers that address these issues.

Aaron Debbink is the second Ball State University physics student to be named a Knowles Fellow.  Ben Buehler, a 2002 Physics and Astronomy Department graduate was one of four fellows named in 2002, the first year of the program.  The fellowship supported Ben during 2002-2003 while he earned certification in physics and a master's degree in Secondary Education.  Since the fall of 2003, Buehler has been teaching physics and chemistry at Blue River Valley High School in Mount Summit, Indiana.