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Departmental History
Introduction
The following is a general history of the University of Tennessee Department
of Physics and Astronomy. What began as a two-man operation has grown into
a prominent research program with well-respected faculty and graduates.
The department's story is one of innovation, discipline, and to some degree,
serendipity. Four major events shaped the direction and development of physics
at UT: the second World War, the Sputnik launch, a National Science Foundation
grant, and a statewide "Centers of Excellence" program.
Estabrook Lays the Groundwork
Science education first became a priority at the University of Tennessee
in 1834, when Joseph Estabrook became the fifth president of what was at
that time called East Tennessee University. A Dartmouth graduate and a scientist,
he shifted the emphasis of the college's curriculum to scientific rather
than classical study, which had been the core of instruction since the school
opened in 1794 as Blount College. Within four years of Estabrook's arrival,
chemistry, mineralogy, geology, and astronomy were required for graduation.
Some 30 years later, however, the Civil War would set back this effort,
as occupation of the campus by Confederate and Union soldiers left the scientific
resources of the University in deplorable shape. Still, the school regrouped,
constructed new buildings, and expanded its degree program. Science education
got another boost in 1892 when Science Hall was built. The building cost
$40,000 and included chemistry and physics labs, classrooms for mechanical
drawing, and a 700-seat auditorium. Dr. James Porter became the first head
of the physics department, serving from 1908-1931. He was also Dean of the
College of Liberal Arts.
The 1930s
Kenneth Hertel was the second department head in physics, with a tenure
lasting from 1935 to 1956. He was esentially the only physics professor
at the University of Tennessee until the mid-1930s. In 1935, after reviewing
a letter of application from a young Ph.D. named Alvin Nielsen, he telephoned
him in Michigan to ask if he would join the Tennessee faculty. At that time
there was no money to bring Nielsen down for an interview and then send
him home, so Hertel simply called and made a flat offer. Nielsen accepted,
arriving in Knoxville in September 1935 to teach physics. The department
was a small one, sharing space in the Geology and Geography building, but
since pre-med and engineering students were required to take physics courses,
enrollment was small but consistent.
Hertel had already sketched out plans for a research program when Nielsen
joined the faculty. He had decided to pursue agricultural research, specifically
the strength of cotton fibers, for economic reasons. Knowing that the
state and its University had a long agricultural history, Hertel saw the
mutual advantage in work of this nature; he would be able to introduce
research to his department and the agricultural economy would benefit
from his findings. He had to scavenge for money, but eventually persuaded
the Department of Agriculture to give him a research contract. The University,
at that time under the presidency of James D. Hoskins, was supportive
of research efforts, but had little money to support them, which prompted
the faculty to look for outside funding. When Nielsen came to the Knoxville
campus he brought with him an interest in molecular spectroscopy. UT had
no equipment for research in this area, but Hertel allowed Nielsen to
spend money here and there to buy what was needed. Nielsen also secured
somewhere between $1,000 to $3,000 in federal grant money to build his
first spectrometer. Hertel had already hired a talented machinist for
the department to work on his cotton project, and so the foundation for
the department of physics research program was laid.
World War II
The first major turn of events for the physics department was World War
II. During 1943-1944, the war effort was escalating and brought with it
a need for the academic training of pre-flight cadets. The U.S. Navy also
sent thousands of students to the UT physics program, so the department
had to find more faculty members to accommodate the sharp increase in enrollment,
in some cases calling teachers out of retirement or from the public school
system. Dr. Nielsen went to Ohio State to work on an infrared detector project
for the army. The Manhattan Project underway in Oak Ridge, just northwest
of Knoxville, was also transforming the character of Eastern Tennessee.
Once mostly agrarian, the region was now a center of scientific activity,
and the influx of scientists, engineers, and technical people brought a
change in educational requirements. Physics enrollment swelled, primarily
because of the "Oak Ridgers." These were people who held degrees
from schools like Yale, Columbia, and MIT who had come South to work at
the Oak Ridge National Laboratory during the war. UT pitched its graduate
program to this group as a means of continuing their education or earning
advanced degrees. Classes were taught both on the UT campus and in Oak Ridge,
usually during late afternoons, evenings, or Saturdays to accommodate work
schedules. By 1947, physics was offering a Ph.D. program. By 1964, the department
had conferred 59 Ph.D.s and nearly 100 Masters' degrees.
Sputnik
The 1950s brought a flurry of activity to the physics department, with an
upswing in enrollment, new faculty, and the development of new research
groups. The second major impact on the physics department, as in others
around the country, came in 1957 when the USSR launched Sputnik into space.
The United States undertook a concerted effort to catch and surpass the
Russians on the technological front, and the 1960s saw a boom in the UT
physics department. President John F. Kennedy declared that the United States
would reach the moon by 1970, and science education became a top priority.
Agencies like the Department of Energy (then the Atomic Energy Commission)
and the National Science Foundation made federal fellowships available for
students pursuing advanced degrees in science. While there had been an average
of about 20 graduate students in the physics department in the mid-1950s,
that number passed 150 in the 1960s. At one point, the department was conferring
19 doctoral degrees per year, ranking it among the top 20 departments in
the country in terms of graduation numbers.
Alvin Nielsen had become the third physics department head in 1956. Under
his leadership, the faculty expanded, particularly in terms of researchers.
He decided UT physics research should try to make use of the equipment
available at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, hence a strong partnership
began between ORNL and UT. Research collaborations led to the Ford Foundation
Professors Program. The Ford Foundation agreed to fund joint appointments
for professors (20 percent at UT, 80 percent at ORNL) for 10 years, with
the idea that over that 10-year period they would phase out the funding
and the University would assume the costs. This further expanded the faculty
and enhanced teaching and research at UT. Nielsen's leadership brought
other changes to the department as well. In 1963, physics finally got
its own building, a $1,140,000 structure with six floors and 66,000 square
feet. That was the same year Nielsen became Dean of the College of Liberal
Arts. He held both titles until 1969, when he gave up the headship of
the physics department. He retired as Dean in 1977, after giving 42 years
of service to the University of Tennessee. In 1980, the physics building
was named the Alvin Nielsen Physics Building in his honor.
National Science Foundation Grant
In 1968, the National Science Foundation named two University of Tennessee
departments as "centers of excellence," with a grant totaling
$1,450,000 (NSF later called the project the "science development program").
The departments of physics and metallurgical engineering used most of their
grant money for research equipment, although physics allocated some of the
award funds to hiring new faculty. When Nielsen stepped down as department
head to focus on his deanship, Dr. William Bugg, who had earned his Ph.D.
at Tennessee in 1959, took over as acting head. He helped write the proposal
that won the NSF funding, and in 1970, became official department head with
a primary duty to administer the grant. At the beginning of Bugg's term,
the department had begun to shift its direction somewhat by hiring faculty
in programs that were already strong, for example, atomic physics and condensed
matter physics. The idea was that this approach would maintain the department's
focus on its strengths, and keep it well-funded and well-respected. Equipment
financed by the NSF grant raised the experimental groups to state-of-the-art
status and helped the department win further outside funding.
In the 1970s, once the research and graduate programs became somewhat
entrenched, the physics department turned its attention to undergraduate
education. UT offers two undergraduate physics curricula: a liberal arts
concentration and an engineering physics major. The latter was in place
before World War II and is one of the oldest engineering programs at the
University. In the '70s, the physics department decided to broaden its
range of undergraduate courses, adding more general courses for students
outside the physics major. A physical science course encompassing physics,
chemistry and geology attracted a large number of students, particularly
education majors. The introductory astronomy course instituted during
this period is still one of the most popular electives among the student
body.
State of Tennessee Centers of Excellence
In September 1982, Dr. Paul G. Huray of the physics department drafted a
project entitled the "Distinguished Scientist Program," which
would attract prominent researchers in all fields of science to set up research
programs at UT, with a dual appointment at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Then-governor Lamar Alexander offered his support to the project, and by
the following summer the program had been approved. At the same time, the
state was looking to establish its own "centers of excellence"
as part of Governor Alexander's Better Schools Program. Drawing on its strong
relationship with ORNL, the University applied for one of the centers as
a means of coordinating the new Distinguished Scientist program and various
other collaborative efforts between UT and the national laboratory. UT's
proposal was granted and in 1984 the University established the state's
first center of excellence, the Science Alliance. Although the center began
with representatives in chemistry, physics, and the biosciences, it has
expanded to include geology, mathematics, and computer science. The agreement
provided that the University would match money from ORNL to hire distinguished
professors, as well as offer support to various other projects such as fellowships
and student support. The infusion of state money into research contributed
to another surge in quality and another alliance between ORNL and UT. The
Distinguished Scientist program and Science Alliance agreement spawned the
Collaborating Scientist Program, which offers researchers a 50-50 appointment
between the University and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory with each paying
half. Through collaborative programs of this nature, the UT Physics Department
has added 10 people to its faculty since 1989, with no increase in funds.
The Future
After 27 years at the helm, Dr. Bill Bugg stepped down as head of the physics
department in August 1996 to concentrate on his research and teaching. Physics
Professor Lee Riedinger took his place, becoming the fifth head in the department's
history. In the fall of 1999, the University of Tennessee teamed up with
Battelle to form the UT-Battelle limited liability partnership and bid on
the management contract for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Riedinger
was a key member of the proposal team. When the Department of Energy awarded
the contract to UT-Battelle, he became ORNL's Deputy Director for Science
and Technology in April 2000. The new relationship between UT and ORNL will
provide further opportunities for scientific research as the physics department
begins a new chapter under the direction of Dr. Soren Sorensen, the new
department head as of October 31, 2000.
See Also:
A Brief Historical Sketch
of the University of Tennessee
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