Andy Elby is 2012 Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year

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Published: Tuesday, April 17 2012 11:33

Andy Elby, a professor in the Department of Teaching Learning, Policy and Leadership and an affiliate in the Physics Education Research Group, has been awarded the 2012 Graduate Faculty Mentor of the Year Award. This award recognizes faculty members who have made exceptional contributions to students' graduate education and experience.

Dr. Elby will be honored at the Graduate School's Fourth Annual Fellowship and Award Celebration, which will take place on Tuesday, May 1, 2012, 3:00-5:00 p.m., in the David C. Driskell Center.

John Quinn Named 2012 CMNS Distinguished Alumnus

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Published: Thursday, April 12 2012 09:44

Dr. John J. Quinn, Professor and holder of the Willis Lincoln Chair of Excellence in Physics at the University of Tennessee, has been named the 2012 Distinguished Alumnus of the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences.

Dr. Quinn received his Ph.D. in Physics here in 1958, under the tutelage of the late Richard A. Ferrell. He received a UMD postdoctoral appointment in condensed matter theory, then accepted a position in the RCA Laboratories. In 1964, he returned to academia as the Mary Amanda Wood Visiting Lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, and then served as a Visiting Professor of Physics at Purdue. In 1965, he began an extremely productive stay at Brown University. At Brown, his roles included Professor, Associate Provost, Ford Foundation Chair and Dean of the Faculty. In 1989, he left Brown to serve as Chancellor of the University of Tennessee.

International Alumnus of the Year: Ravi Kuchimanchi, M.S. ’91, Ph.D. ’95

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Published: Thursday, April 12 2012 09:42

While a graduate student at University of Maryland, Ravi Kuchimanchi founded the Association for India’s Development (AID), a volunteer movement for sustainable, holistic development with 50 chapters in the United States, UK, Australia and India. It brings highly skilled professionals to work with the poor and underprivileged, promoting a deeper understanding of the causes of poverty. Each year, AID raises more than $1 million in the United States and mobilizes nearly 1,000 volunteers to tackle the corruption and exploitation that keeps many Indian residents living in poverty.

Passionately interested in pursuing appropriate technology to benefit the underprivileged, Ravi and his colleagues recently adapted the traditional haybox cooker to local materials so that it can be made in villages while improving energy efficiency; developed a pedal power generator to light remote, off-the-grid village schools; and forged a collaboration between AID and grassroots groups in the Narmada River Valley to bring electricity to 12 hamlets of the tribal village Bilgaon. Ravi holds a B.Tech in Civil Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Maryland. He has published several papers in international physics journals including Physical Review Letters and has recently proposed a theory that makes predictions for neutron’s electric dipole moment.

S. James Gates and Chad Mirkin Write Editorial for Science

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Published: Tuesday, April 10 2012 13:04

Physics Professor S. James Gates and Chad Mirkin,Northwestern University, wrote Engage to Excel, for the March 2012 issue of Science. The editorial is available at: http://www.sciencemag.org/content/335/6076/1545.summary?sid=109c9b81-58be-40ed-af3d-99147cd8f29b

Edward Ott Named 2012 SIAM Fellow

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Published: Monday, April 02 2012 13:33

Edward Ott, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Physics and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, was named a 2012 Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Professor Ott was recognized for the breadth, depth, and vitality of his investigations of nonlinear dynamical systems, which highlight both theory and application. His area of focus is in the basic theory and applications of nonlinear dynamics, with current projects in wave chaos; dynamics on large interconnected networks; chaotic dynamics of fluids; and weather prediction. He was previously on the Advisory Board of the Dynamical Systems Activity Group.

Class of 2012 Fellows will be honored at the SIAM Annual Meeting to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July.