Pedro Goldman has been recognized three times for teaching, receiving the highest possible rankings at all levels from first year undergraduate to advanced graduate courses. He received Western's highest accolade, the Pleva Award in 1996, plus the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) Medal for Excellence in Teaching in 1998. His students in Physics 132a/b, The Physics of Music and Sound, created an award in the Faculty of Music for Excellence in Teaching Music, to be selected by the Undergraduate body. Pedro has won it twice.

CAP INITIATIVES TO ADDRESS
THE LOW UNDERGRADUATE ENROLMENT
IN PHYSICS DEPARTMENTS IN CANADA

There is currently a crisis faced by Physics Departments across North-America: the very low enrolment in undergraduate Physics programs. There are several immediate troubling consequences to this trend in Canada, some of which are: the number of faculty members in Physics Departments is shrinking given that it is tied to the number of Physics students; the small number of Honours Physics students has resulted in a decrease in graduate enrolment in Physics; the decrease in the Physics student population has resulted in a decrease in the pool of needed new High-School Physics teachers. All of these factors are closely interrelated and the net effect is an escalation of the overall problem.

The Division of Physics Education of the Canadian Association of Physicists (CAP) has introduced new initiatives to address this problem and is working towards achieving recognition of its seriousness by national institutions. I would like to discuss with the audience ideas on curriculum development, new programs, and outreach activities in Physics Departments across Canada. A very important component of these initiatives stresses the involvement of Physics Departments with High School students, teachers and guidance counsellors.

I would also like to discuss the need for these activities to be funded and the lack of a national agency in Canada to fund education related initiatives.