Tatiana Yerukhimova is a Russian-American physicist and educator, a professor of instruction in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Texas A&M University. Born and raised in Nizhny Novgorod, she graduated from the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. She is widely known by the nickname "Dr. Tatiana" thanks to viral videos of physics experiments that have gathered over 400 million views online.[3]

Nizhny Novgorod Roots

Yerukhimova grew up in Nizhny Novgorod, a city she describes as one of Russia's strongest centers of physics, standing at the confluence of the Oka and the Volga.[2] Both of her parents were physicists, and, in the scientist's own words, "a passion for physics is in her genes."[2] After completing her graduate studies, she earned a Ph.D. in physics at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and worked there as a researcher for several years.[4]

Career at Texas A&M

In 1999, Yerukhimova moved to College Station in the United States, taking a research position at Texas A&M University.[2] At the same time, she was offered a course in atmospheric thermodynamics for third-year students, and, unexpectedly, she discovered a gift for teaching. Since 2006, Yerukhimova has taught introductory calculus-based physics courses — mechanics and electromagnetism — to lecture sections of more than a hundred first-year students, and she also serves as the coordinator of outreach for the Department of Physics and Astronomy.[3]

As part of her outreach programs, she organizes the annual Physics and Engineering Festival, has run the Physics Show since 2007 — over the years, more than 40,000 people have attended her shows — and also leads the DEEP (Discover, Explore, and Enjoy Physics Engineering), MIPEP (Mitchell Institute Physics Enhancement Program), and Real Physics Live programs.[4]

Her first viral video — an experiment with an egg, a cardboard tube, and a glass of water, illustrating the law of inertia — was posted on the department's TikTok page on December 13, 2021, and gathered more than 7.8 million views.[2] The department's YouTube channel has grown to roughly 2.5 million subscribers.[1] Yerukhimova credits the university's marketing team for her success on social media: "This is just one way to make physics accessible to people."[1]

Recognition and Awards

In 2023, the American Physical Society (APS) awarded Yerukhimova the Dwight Nicholson Medal for Outreach, in recognition of her contribution to popularizing physics through innovative educational programs, summer schools for teachers, and online video.[3] The medal comes with a $3,000 stipend and a commemorative certificate.[3] Yerukhimova is the inaugural holder of the Marsha and Ralph Schilling Chair in Physics Education (since 2022), and was elected a Fellow of the APS in 2019, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2023, and of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) in 2024.[4] Her other honors include the David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching (AAPT, 2024), the Texas A&M Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence title (2017), and the Sigma Xi Distinguished Science Communicator award (2014).[4]

References

  • Wikidata (Q107333413 — entry in the free knowledge base)
  • ORCID (0000-0002-9714-0151 — international researcher identifier)
  • Scopus (6507671427 — author profile in Scopus)
  • Google Scholar (v00DKlwAAAAJ)
  • VIAF (86305991 — Virtual International Authority File)
  • ISNI (0000000116818569)

Sources

  1. npr.org — Meet the professor getting TikTok excited about physics : NPR
  2. stories.tamu.edu — A Texas A&M Professor Is Sharing Her Love Of Physics With Millions On TikTok
  3. stories.tamu.edu — Physicist Tatiana Erukhimova Earns National Award For Science Outreach
  4. people.tamu.edu — Tatiana Erukhimova