UI Physics & Astronomy
2003 Newsletter

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

• Faculty Highlights/Research
• Outreach Activities/
  Highlights
• Alumni News
• Graduate/Undergraduate News
• Staff News
• What's New

Special Points of Interest:

• Space Odyssey
• Faculty Directory
• Faculty Searches
• Pioneer 10 Says "Goodbye"
• Undergraduates/Graduates Receiving Degrees
• Fall Enrollment Numbers
• Alumni Update Form

Staff News

Longevity Awards

Several staff members received longevity awards this year from the University and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.

Richard Huff (Research Engineer) and William Robison (Engineer III) were acknowledged for 25 years of service at the University.

Staff members noted for 20 years of service in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences include Jean Hospodarsky (Secretary III) and Jolene Pickett (Research Engineer), and those having 10 years of service include Robert Johnson (Engineer II) and J. Douglas Menietti (Research Scientist).

Ron Vogel, Lab Coordinator, received an Improving Our Workplace Award (IOWA) for redesigning physics lab experiments for 1000 undergraduate students, through use of the latest technology and an apparatus which he designed. He also worked with physics and engineering students to find ways to make the exercises more interesting.

Retirements and Departures

Changes in departmental staff this year include retirements and departures.

Those retiring include Robert Brechwald (Systems Support Manager) and James Phillips (Senior Engineer).

Recent departures in the Department include Rainer Bartoldus (Research Investigator), Naoki Bessho (Postdoc Scholar), Kai Germaschewski (Postdoc Scholar), Wenyun Lu (Research Investigator), Michael Mitchell (Engineer IV), Chung-Sang Ng (Associate Research Scientist), Carol Preston (Program Assistant), Teh-Hwa Wong (Research Investigator), and Ping Zhu (Postdoc Scholar).

Mary Louise Kelley Professional Development Award

Dale Stille (Instructional Designer) received a Mary Louise Kelley Professional Development Award from the UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. The award is given to staff members for job-related continuing education, training, and professional activity. Dale used the award to pay for fees to attend the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) National Meeting that was held in Madison, WI on August 2-6, 2003. While at that meeting, Dale was also elected Vice President of the Physics Instructional Resource Association (PIRA), an international organization sponsored by the AAPT whose membership includes people working in lecture demonstrations, lab coordinators and managers, physics professors, and high school teachers from around the world.