Iowa City physics teacher named finalist for 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Math and Science Teaching

This story first appeared in STEM in Iowa 2025, an annual special section distributed in The Gazette that provides an in-depth look at how this educational pathway is having an impact in the classroom as well as in future workforce pipelines.

Matt Harding once imagined himself in a courtroom or a doctor’s office, but it was the elegance of physics, explaining everything from falling apples to orbiting planets, that changed his life’s trajectory.

Today, the Liberty High School teacher is one of five state finalists for the 2025 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST), the highest honor for K-12 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educators. Established in 1983, the PAEMST recognizes teachers who demonstrate deep content knowledge, inspire student success and exemplify the best of STEM education.

“We need a population of scientific voices,” Harding said. “As teachers, we really see a purpose in nurturing our students’ curiosity and drive. It’s our responsibility to help them get to where they want to go. The goal is to see them create a world in which we all want to live.”

State PAEMST finalists now advance to the nation level of competition, where two national winners from each state — one in science and one in mathematics — will be named. Each national winner receives $10,000 from the National Science Foundation and joins a national cohort of award-winning educators. The honor also provides opportunities to shape STEM education on both state and national levels.

Harding was nominated for the PAEMST by Keaton Rickels, one of Liberty’s assistant principals, in December 2024. This launched an extensive application process that included a reflective narrative, classroom video and letters of recommendation. A panel of prominent mathematicians, scientists, researchers, district leaders and classroom teachers reviewed the applications, with state winners announced in April.

It is not known when the national winners will be named. The White House announced the 2021, 2022 and 2023 winners on Jan. 15, 2025, so Harding could have a long wait on his hands. He doesn’t consider this stressful, as being named a state finalist is an honor he never expected.

“As I get toward the back end of my career, it’s validating to have a panel of peers — experienced veteran teachers who know the craft — evaluate my work and say it’s good,” Harding said.

Harding recently completed his 25th year of teaching, all within the Iowa City Community School District. A native of Clinton, Iowa, he earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Northern Iowa in 2000, followed by a master’s in science education from UNI in 2010.

Harding taught physics at West High School for 24 years before transferring to Liberty in 2024. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for making physics approachable and engaging.

“Mr. Harding is the definition of a hands-on teacher,” said Dania Hussein, a 2025 West High graduate who was in Harding’s AP Physics classes as a sophomore and junior. “He’s not the type to tell you what’s wrong and what’s right; he wants you to figure it out, to work with classmates to test different ideas.”

Hussein, who will attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall, credits Harding for transforming her understanding of physics.

“Teaching physics the ‘Harding way’ created an unforgettable environment: everyone in our physics class just loved learning and exploring concepts instead of accepting them as truth without actively proving them and explaining their ideas to everyone else first,” Hussein wrote in her letter of recommendation for Harding’s PAEMST application. “Mr. Harding made physics about learning from failure in a way that profoundly changed my outlook and academic trajectory.”

Hussein’s appreciation mirrors Harding’s own experience as a student. It was his high school physics teacher, Wayne Guntzel, who sparked his interest in physics education as a career.

“He was the kind of teacher you heard about as a freshman and hoped you got to have a class with him as a senior,” Harding said.

Guntzel made physics fun — an approach Harding strives to emulate every day.

“It’s just so easy to grab any everyday kind of object and explain how the world works through it,” he said.

Despite Harding’s passion for physics, there are three people who don’t quite see him as a scientist: his own children. Married to Anne Harding, a research scientist at the University of Iowa, the couple’s offspring affectionately distinguish their parents’ roles.

“They say she’s the scientist, I’m the teacher,” Harding said.

But that’s fine with him. Inspiring curiosity is a lesson that transcends any title.