International Commission on Physics Education (ICPE) Newsletter, Issue 55

This is the April 2008 issue of the International Commission on Physics Education (ICPE) newsletter. It emphasizes integrating sustainability and climate change topics into physics education, inspired by global initiatives like the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development and the International Year of Planet Earth. The issue features an article on the growth of Physics Education Research (PER) in Canada, highlighting funding challenges and recent institutional developments. It reports on the ICPE2007 conference in Marrakech, which focused on building careers with physics, and announces upcoming events including GIREP 2008 in Cyprus and the first PHYSWARE workshop. The ICPE Medal was awarded to Professor Priscilla Laws for her pioneering contributions to active learning.