Carl Wieman is a Cheriton Family Professor and Professor of Physics and of Education, Emeritus at Stanford. He holds a joint appointment as Professor of Physics and of the Graduate School of Education. Prof Wierman has done extensive experimental research in atomic and optical physics. He and Eric Cornell produced the first true Bose–Einstein condensate, an ultracold state of matter; in 2001, they and Wolfgang Ketterle were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. Prof Wieman’s current intellectual focus is on undergraduate physics and science education. He has pioneered the use of experimental techniques to evaluate the effectiveness of various teaching strategies for physics and other sciences, and served as Associate Director for Science in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Canadian connection – Carl Wieman joined the University of British Columbia in 2007 and headed a well-endowed science education initiative that transformed undergraduate science education at UBC and beyond with an evidence-driven, department-based approach.