Around The Department 1999

INTERACTIONS 1999

Around the Department

Your Physics Department had another active and productive academic year. Highlights are presented below along with the names of this year's graduating students.

Richard Griffiths and Andy Ptak, looking at X-ray emission from the galaxy M82 with the Japanese satellite ASCA (Advanced Satellite for Cosmology and Astrophysics), discovered what is most likely an accreting black hole of at least 460 solar masses. Look for an update in the next edition of Inter-Actions.

The 1999 Buhl Lecture was delivered in April by Professor Nathan Seiberg of the Institute for Advanced Study. He spoke to a general audience on The Pursuit of Unification-Fulfilling Einstein's Dreams. Dr. Seiberg is an expert on string theory; he spent three days in the department having discussions with faculty and students.

This year's Dickson Prize was awarded to Professor Walter Alvarez of the University of California at Berkeley. Professor Alvarez visited with us in the Physics Department where, among other things, we told him about interactions some of us had had with his dad, Luis. Walter gave a general audience lecture: T-rex and the Crater of Doom and a lecture in the department about the physics of large impact objects. His visit to the university was certainly one of this year's highlights.

Ling-Fong Li and collaborator T.P. Cheng have published a monograph Gauge Theory of Elementary Particle Physics: Problems and Solutions (Oxford).

Jeff Peterson continues to take remarkable data at the South Pole with his Viper telescope. His observations on the cosmic microwave back-ground have provided "hot" new information in the areas of cosmology and astrophysics. The department welcomed four outstanding and hardworking staff members during the last academic year. Dan Corletti has become the business manager. Michelle Mannella is now our student programs coordinator. Virginia Arrington and Cheryl Steppling have joined the secretarial staff.

Our department head, Bob Swendsen, married Roberta Klatzky on May 23.

Reinhard Schumacher was promoted to full professor.

Curtis Meyer was promoted to associate professor with tenure. Curtis and Annette Banks were married on March 23 in New Orleans.

Roy Briere joined the department in August as an assistant professor. Roy comes to us from Harvard and his research area is experimental particle physics. His immediate plans include experiments at Cornell and at CERN.

Kathy Romer has been promoted to research scientist. Kathy's research is in galactic cluster observations. (See Inter-Actions 1998 for an article written by Kathy.)

Robert Nichol has been named spectroscopic scientist with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Tom Ferguson has been on sabbatical leave at CERN and Fermilab. Mike Widom has been on sabbatical leave at the University of Paris and Cornell University.

Milestones: Lincoln Wolfenstein has completed 51 years of service to the university as a member of the faculty. Hugh Young has completed 51 years of service to the university as a student and a faculty member. John Fetkovich has completed 50 years of service to the university as a student and as a member of the faculty. Arnold Engler will retire from the university in January 2000, after 38 years of service.