Rachel White, a freshman physics major, is the department's first-ever winner of the $1,000 Dorothy and Rufus Ritchie Scholarship. Rachel grew up outside of Oak Ridge and is a graduate of Clinton Senior High School. "I really like it," Rachel said of her introduction to physics at UT. "I've been really happy with the classes I'm taking. I'm learning more than I expected to." At present she's enrolled in Dr. Jon Levin's Physics 137 course for physics majors, a class she sat in on last spring when she was visiting as a prospective student. She said meeting students with common academic interests has been one of the highlights of her first semester here. She also has a clear goal for her future. "I'm determined to get my Ph.D.," she said, adding that she isn't quite sure what field of physics she'll pursue just yet. "I really like experiments, but I wouldn't be opposed to theory," she said. Rachel is the first freshman to benefit from the department's campaign to attract new physics majors with undergraduate scholarships. Dr. Sam Hurst established this scholarship as a means to honor his long-time friend and colleague, Dr. Rufus Ritchie. Dr. Ritchie was a mainstay of the Health Sciences Research Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory for many years and is an ORNL senior corporate fellow (emeritus). Dr. Hurst earned his physics doctorate at UT and was a Ford Foundation Professor of Physics in the department from 1963 until 1966. He is also an emeritus ORNL senior corporate fellow and serves on the physics department's Board of Visitors. Cross Sections, Fall/Winter 2002 Issue, Contents Page UT Physics News & Notes Page UT Physics Home Page This page was last updated on December 5, 2002. Please send comments to cal@utk.edu.