Personal background; Iowa State University, 1887-1914; state of American physics prior to 1930; Paul Klopsteg; teaching versus research; Arthur G. Webster; first American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) success, 1931; Karl Compton and Floyd K. Richtmyer support; formation of the American Institute of Physics and AAPT as a founder society. Interview conducted by the Columbia University Oral History Research Office as part of a series of interviews conducted with founding members of the American Association of Physics Teachers.