James Drake and James Burch were awarded the Popular Writing Award by the Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society. They were selected for their article Reconnecting Magnetic Fields, which appeared in the American Scientist magazine’s September/October 2009 issue.
The award will be presented at the Annual Solar Physics Division meeting, on May 25, in Miami.
Pat Roos, wife of 47 years to Emeritus Professor Phillip Roos, died on May 1. She was a member of the university community for many years. Roos wrote the following obituary:
Patricia “Pat” Lee (Nord) Roos, age 69, died on May 1, 2010 at her home in Ashton, MD after a year-long battle with lung cancer. Pat was born on July 3, 1940 in Wauseon, OH, the only child of Elmer (deceased) and Helen (Green) Nord. After attending Wauseon High School, Pat graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder, CO in 1962. In 1963 she married Philip Grisier Roos in the First Christian Church of Wauseon. In 1964 they moved with their newly born daughter to Maryland when her husband took a position at the University of Maryland in College Park, MD. They spent 1965-1968 in Oak Ridge, TN, returning to Maryland in 1968 where they remained until 2005. Pat worked at the University of Maryland from 1974-1992 as the editor of a monthly newsletter and of various research compilations for a science college. During her years in Maryland, she was active in the University of Maryland Women’s’ Golf Group, and worked as a volunteer at the Smithsonian Institution green houses, for the Trail Riders of Today (TROT), and for the Maryland-National Capital Park Police. In 2005 Pat and Phil bought a home in Moss Creek Plantation, a golfing community in Hilton Head, SC. There, in addition to golf, Pat was active in a number of other community activities.
Pat had numerous interests and activities. She was an avid golfer, having taken it up while living in Tennessee. She had a lifetime love of horses, and owned a horse while growing up in Ohio until she went to college. Pat had the opportunity to renew her riding when she built a house in the countryside of Maryland and kept her horse “Whose He” and two friends’ horses at her home. She and her friends rode nearby trails frequently. Pat loved to travel, beginning with a seven month tour in Europe with friends Dede and Judy following college graduation. Over the years she made a number of trips to Europe and spent time in Canada, Turkey, South Africa, and a last trip to China and Tibet. Pat also loved to entertain and hosted many small and large parties for her many friends. She was a wonderful hostess.
Pat is survived by her husband Philip G. Roos of Hilton Head Island, SC; daughter Kirsten J. Roos of Ashton, MD; two grandsons, Heath A. Dennison of Lewis Center, OH and Chase P. Dennison of Ashton, MD; her mother Helen Green Nord Riches of Wauseon, OH; and a half-brother Richard Nord of Boise, ID. She is also survived by many relatives of the Grisier and Roos families, the Green families, and the Riches families; and by many wonderful friends.
A celebrations of Pat’s life will be held in Ashton, MD and Hilton Head, SC at a later date. Pat will be honored, if you would do a good deed for a person in need in her name.
Physics Alumnus Leo Singer, Undergraduate Physics Majors Kaitlyn Tuley and John Siberholz have won NSF Graduate Research Fellowships (GRFP). Singer is currently a first year graduate student at the California Institute of Technology. His field of study is in Gravitational Experiment. Siberholz and Tuley are graduating seniors at Maryland.
The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursuing research-based master's and doctoral degrees. GRFP Fellows receive three years of support, an annual stipend, cost-of-education allowance, one-time international travel allowance and TeraGrid Supercomputer access.
On March 4, 2010, President Mote and NASA-Goddard Director Rob Strain signed a Memorandum of Understanding to promote collaboration between NASA-Goddard and the University of Maryland. A Space Act Agreement between the two institutions was signed by Dean Steve Halperin and Dr. Nick White of NASA-Goddard. The Agreement launches the Joint Space-Science Institute (JSI), a partnership between the Departments of Astronomy and Physics and NASA-Goddard, with Chris Reynolds (Astronomy) as Director.