Representing the College of Arts and Sciences were Dr. Stuart Riggsby, Associate Dean of Research, and Susan Williams of the Development Office. Other notable guests included the department's inaugural board of visitors (see related story) and retired faculty members Dr. David King and Dr. Ed Harris. Mrs. Barbara Lide, widow of Dr. Bob Lide, was also in attendance.

Dr. James E. Parks, associate department head and director of undergraduate laboratories, inducted seven new members into Sigma Pi Sigma, the physics profession's honor society. Membership recognizes distinctive achievement and scholarship in physics. The UT chapter requires students to post an overall grade point average of 3.25 and a physics GPA of 3.5.The following students were inducted into the society during the 1999 ceremony:

• Anas Ababneh
• Thomas Gadfort
• Shannon Mahurin
• Suphot Musiri
• Kenneth J. Roche
• Alexander Thesen
• Dowman Varn

Academic achievement, scholastic promise, contributions to the department, and overall excellence were the criteria for the three citations and five awards the physics department handed out. The awards, and their respective winners, were:

Robert W. Lide Citations
The Lide Citations recognize students who have worked hard to improve the undergraduate physics and astronomy laboratories. They are named in honor of Dr. Robert Lide, who served on the physics faculty for 35 years before retiring in 1992. Ever the volunteer, Dr. Lide continued to donate his time to the organization of undergraduate instructional labs and the weekly setup of equipment. For this spirit of exceptional service, the department initiated citations for students who demonstrate that same commitment. The first citations were awarded in 1998, shortly before Dr. Lide's death. In 1999, the second class of Lide Citation winners won recognition for the following contributions:

• For Outstanding Physics Laboratory Service: Wesley Robertson
• For Outstanding Physics Laboratory Development: Richard Manley
• For Outstanding Astronomy Laboratory Leadership: James Wicker

The Outstanding First Year Physics Student
This award recognizes exceptional achievement by a student in his or her first year of physics study. The faculty selects this honoree based on academic excellence and scholarly potential. The 1999 winner was Stephen Wilson, who received a copy of the Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. The awards committee recommended Stephen based on "fine evaluations by classroom and lab instructors, combined with a 4.0 GPA." Stephen is from Germantown, Tennessee, and says right now he is leaning toward high energy physics as a specialty, with plans to go on to graduate school.

The Douglas V. Roseberry Distinguished Upper Class Major Award
The Douglas V. Roseberry Award recognizes an advanced physics student who exemplifies the attributes of Douglas Roseberry, an undergraduate physics major in the late 1950s. Douglas was a highly regarded student, well known not only for his affinity for learning physics, but also for his great enthusiasm for departmental activities. Former department head Alvin Nielsen once described him as "clearly the epitome of what a fine student should be." Douglas was planning to pursue graduate study at Princeton University when his promising career was cut short by an aneurysm in October 1959. In the spring of 1960, the first Roseberry Award was presented to honor him and to recognize another student of like qualities. Ted Corcovilos won the 1999 award of $500. In doing so, he became the first student ever to win the honor three years straight. A native of Maryville, Tennessee, Ted will go on to Caltech in the fall to begin his Ph.D. study in experimental physics.

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award
Perhaps better described as "the student's choice award," this honor is reserved for the graduate teaching assistant who demonstrates exemplary teaching skills as determined by student evaluations. Cathy Large claimed the 1999 prize, a cash award of $500. Cathy is working toward a master's degree in biophysics under the direction of Dr. Solon Georghiou.

Paul H. Stelson Fellowship in Physics
Dr. Paul H. Stelson loved physics and fostered a strong desire to impart his enthusiasm to others. He finished his Ph.D at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at the age of 23 and joined the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as a nuclear physicist in 1953. He became Associate Director of the Physics Division in 1971, and was named director in 1973. During his tenure, the Holifield Heavy Ion Research Facility was funded, built, and became operational. Dr. Stelson was an adjunct professor of physics at UT from 1967 until the time of his death and served as a mentor for the careers of many young physicists. His family established this award to assist aspiring scientists in completing their graduate education and to continue the strong relationship in physics research between UT and ORNL. The $2,500 Stelson Fellowship for 1999 went to Noel Black. Noel is a graduate student working on hybrid baryon decay and scattering in the quark model, and hybrid baryon decay in the flux tube model.

Joe Fowler and Jerry Marion Outstanding Graduate Student Award
Dr. Joseph Fowler was an outstanding nuclear physicist who enjoyed a long tenure as head of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Physics Division. With the help of Dr. Jerry Marion, he wrote an introductory physics book entitled, Fast Neutron Physics, the royalties of which were donated to the physics department. The funds were used in part to establish an award for outstanding graduate student achievement. Lilia Woods won the 1999 award ($1,000). Lilia is originally from Bulgaria, having earned a master's degree in nuclear physics at Sofia University in 1993. After teaching high school for a year, she came to UT and began working with Dr. Jerry Mahan. She successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on April 13 and plans to spend next year as a post-doc in Dr. Mahan's group.

Where once the international playing field was dominated by military might, Dr. Madia explained that now "we compete on advances in science and technology." To take the principles of basic research and transform them into commercial projects is far from easy, but the successful lab director explained his approach to that problem. All sci-tech triumphs find their roots in basic research. However, to determine whether a concept has commercial success, one must consider if it is scientifically better, acceptable in terms of regulations, economically viable, and acceptable to the public. Some important advice he imparted to his listeners was that clearing these hurdles includes an ensemble cast of engineers, scientists, technicians, marketing professionals, attorneys, and CEOs. "Other folks in your world will play a role" in your work, he said.


Back to Cross Sections, Spring 1999 issue.