Physics Prof. Ryan Johnson receives Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award
Physics Prof. Ryan Johnson was recognized for excellence in teaching with the Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award during Fall Honors Day on Friday, Oct. 30.
Gettysburg College recognized Physics Prof. Ryan Johnson as the 2026 Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award recipient on Fall Honors Day on Friday, Oct. 30. Named after Biology Prof. Emeritus Ralph Cavaliere, the award is given annually to a full-time faculty member who exhibits excellence in teaching. Each year, the Student Senate nominates and selects the faculty recipients of this award.
Johnson has been teaching at Gettysburg since 2014 and began his five-year term as the W.K.T. Sahm Professor of Physics in 2025. He earned a Bachelor of Science in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of New Mexico in 2001 and a Ph.D. in physics from Dartmouth College in 2011.
Physics Prof. Ryan Johnson receives the Dr. Ralph Cavaliere Endowed Teaching Award. (Photo courtesy Gettysburg College Physics Department)
Johnson brings his extensive scientific background into his work at Gettysburg. His academic focus is observational astronomy, multiwavelength observations and interpretations of galaxy clusters, data science, and machine learning. As an observational astrophysicist and cosmologist, Johnson’s research primarily focuses on gravity through the study of galaxy clusters.
In addition to his research in astrophysics, he has contributed to projects in areas such as sports metric analysis, geospatial and temporal data mapping, and predictive modeling for real-world applications, including recipes, racial bias in housing, COVID-19 infection and death rates, and probabilities in games of chance.
At Gettysburg, Johnson teaches topics in astronomy, physics, and data science. He brings his research into the classroom and creates opportunities for students to collaborate with him through summer and mid-semester projects. The student-faculty connections that are fostered through this collaboration are crucial to Johnson’s work and research. Gettysburg’s emphasis on faculty-led research in its curriculum has been extremely meaningful to him.
Physics Prof. Ryan Johnson engages students in a discussion of Jovian orbiters in a class held at Hatter Planetarium at Gettysburg College.
“I’m very surprised and grateful to receive this award,” Johnson said. “This award is significant to me in that I was both nominated and selected by students. So much of what I do at Gettysburg centers around my work with students, and so it feels really nice to have that work recognized by them.”