News
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24 May 2023 Lucien Tsai (’24) Wins Astronaut Scholarship Congratulations are in order to Lucien Tsai for winning a 2023 Astronaut Scholarship. Lucien joins a very accomplished group of HMC physicists who have won Astronaut Scholarships. Lucien thrives on research … |
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24 April 2023 Eldred Tubbs dies 10 days before his 99th birthday Eldred Frank Tubbs, a long-time resident of Claremont, died March 21, 2023. He was born March 31, 1924 in Buffalo, New York. His parents, Frank K. Tubbs and Ruth A. Stone, were both descended from early … |
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4 November 2022 Helliwell and Sahakian Text Earns Praise Cambridge University Press announced 14 titles as finalist for the 2022 PROSE Awards. Modern Classical Mechanics, by T. M. Helliwell and V. V. Sahakian was one of two titles in Chemistry and Physics to … |
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15 May 2022 Congratulations to the class of 2022 Despite two years of pandemic interruptions, we are proud to have graduated the class of 2022 who triumphed despite great obstacles. We are very proud of the great accomplishments of the class of 2022 … |
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22 March 2022 Dessertfest is back, baby! After a lamentable pandemic-induced two-year hiatus, the Physics Department tradition of plying students with home-baked delectables resumed on March 22. A semi-infinite number of hungry students partook … |
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19 January 2022 Kevin Kim and Lucien Tsai (both ’24) Win Gold in The University Physics Competition Consider the impact of an asteroid in the ocean, 1,000 km from a coastal city. What is the minimum mass the asteroid would require in order to cause substantial damage to this city? You have 48 hours. … |
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23 February 2021 Affirmation of Community Values The Harvey Mudd College Physics Department recognizes the value, dignity, and humanity of every member of our community. We strive to conduct ourselves with honesty and integrity. We commit to building … |
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23 January 2021 Helliwell and Sahakian Release a Modern Classic Vatche V. Sahakian and Thomas M. Helliwell have just published Modern Classical Mechanics, a forward-looking text published by Cambridge University Press that shows the deep connections between classical … |
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20 January 2021 Vedika Khemani (’10) Wins APS Prize Vedika Khemani (’10) has won the 2021 George E. Valley Jr. Prize from the American Physical Society. The citation on the APS site reads “For seminal theoretical work on novel phases of many-body localized … |
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3 January 2021 Shion Andrew (’21) Awarded 2021 Churchill Scholarship Shion Andrew (’21) has been awarded a 2021–2022 Churchill Scholarship. She is the latest of Harvey Mudd College’s 16 Churchill Scholarship winners, dating back to 1973—more than any non-PhD-grating institution. … |
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29 July 2020 Jason Gallicchio wins NSF CAREER grant Assistant Professor Jason Gallicchio has won a prestigious National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) grant to support his research at the intersection of quantum mechanics and cosmology. … |
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10 June 2020 Brian Shuve co-organizes a strike for Black lives For some researchers, last week’s statements from institutions in support of #BlackLivesMatter didn’t go far enough. “Calls for justice and centring Black lives were met with watered-down statements promoting … |
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22 May 2020 Class of 2020 Zooms through celebration Covid-19 forced us to cancel our traditional celebratory luncheon for the graduating senior physicists, but we were not going to let a little pandemic get in the way of a proper send-off. In a Zoom meeting … |
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7 October 2019 Matthew Fox (’20) publishes two single-author papers on general relativity Rising senior, Matthew S. Fox, has published two single-author papers on general relativity this summer and fall. The first on “Palatini \( f(R, L_m, R_{\mu\nu}T^{\mu\nu}) \) gravity its Born-Infeld semblance” … |
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13 May 2018 Congratulations to the class of 2018! Congratulations to the HMC Physics class of 2018; we’ll miss you all but are very proud and so excited to hear all about your coming adventures. Keep in touch! |
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3 April 2018 Kemper Ludlow (’18) Wins NSF Graduate Fellowship Congratulations to senior Kemper Ludlow on winning a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship to study physics. |
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6 March 2018 HMC Does the APS March Meeting Professor Nicholas P. Breznay's solid state physics class, Prof. Peter N. Saeta's clinic team sponsored by Sandia National Laboratories, and lots of other current students from sophomores through seniors … |
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22 February 2018 Eric Fullerton (’84) Named to the National Academy of Engineering Physics alum, Eric E. Fullerton (’84), has been named to the National Academy of Engineering, one of 83 new members announced 7 February 2018. Fullerton is the director of the Center for Memory Recording … |
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5 January 2018 The Gerbode Group’s Work Featured by Physical Review Professor Sharon Gerbode’s work on manipulating grain boundaries in colloidal crystals is featured at the APS website. Check it out! |
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1 December 2017 Brian Shuve named KITP Scholar Brian Shuve has been named one of the eight KITP Scholars for 2018–2020. The KITP Scholars Program of the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California Santa Barbara supports … |
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23 October 2017 Calvin Leung (’17) Wins HMC’s Fourth Apker Award Calvin Leung has been awarded the American Physical Society’s LeRoy Apker Award for outstanding research in physics by an undergraduate. The Committee cited his work “for development and experimental implementation … |
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1 September 2017 Letter from the Chair Update from the Department Chair, Theresa Lynn Last May, we said goodbye to about 25 physics graduates in the Class of 2017. These new alumni have gone on to graduate study at Princeton, Yale, MIT, UC … |
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12 May 2017 HMC Physics Students, Alumni Win Prestigious Graduate Fellowships Several students and alumni of the Harvey Mudd physics program have won national fellowships for graduate study this year. Jonas Kaufman (’17) and Helen Fitzmaurice (’10) have been offered National Science … |
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3 July 2016 Prof. Jack Waggoner passes away after a long illness Retired Professor Jack Holmes Waggoner died on the morning of 2 July 2016, according to a nurse at Pilgrim Place, where Waggoner resided following the 2013 death of his beloved wife Anne. He is survived … |
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18 May 2016 Calvin Leung (’17) Wins an Astronaut Scholarship Rising senior physicist, Calvin Leung, has won a prestigious Astronaut Scholarship. The Astronaut Scholarship Program was created over 30 years ago by the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts: Scott Carpenter, … |
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7 April 2016 Natasha Allen (’16) Wins a Watson Fellowship Congratulations to senior Natasha Allen who has won a Watson Fellowship to explore issues of access to energy in a range of Third-World countries. Her proposed project is titled Switching On: The Pursuit … |
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5 April 2016 Sharon Gerbode named a 2016 Cottrell Scholar Congratulations to Sharon Gerbode for becoming one of the 24 2016 Cottrell scholars selected by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement. The recognition comes with a $100,000 grant to support … |
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29 March 2016 Jim Wu (’16) Wins NSF Graduate Fellowship Congratulations to graduating senior Jim Wu on earning a NSF Graduate Fellowships in Physics. Jim is planning to study biophysics at Princeton starting in the fall. |
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5 June 2015 Letter from the Chair Dear HMC Physics Alum, I write you with a short update on the department and to ask for your help on two matters. The first is your feedback on the physics program: a brief but crucial survey to inform … |
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4 June 2015 HMC Hosts ALPhA Workshop on Quantum Optics Theresa Lynn and Richard Haskell hosted a three-day ALPhA Immersion workshop on quantum optics, using the setup in the Stoddard Laboratory used in the optics laboratory course. Besides rising senior Sid … |
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10 May 2015 Congratulations to Brett Berger and Aaron Rosenthal Congratulations to Brett Berger for winning the Thomas B. Brown award and to Aaron Rosenthal for winning the Alfred B. Focke award. Brett’s thesis describes a new inverted Raman micrometer that he has … |
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21 April 2015 Seneca Harberger (’05) Named a 2014 Pisacano Scholar HMC physics alumnus, Seneca Harberger (’05), received a $28,000 Pisacano Scholar Award for future leaders in family medicine. Seneca is finishing up his fourth year in medical school. After graduating … |
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2 April 2015 William H. (Sandy) Sandmann (1928–2014) William (Sandy) Sandmann, physics professor at Harvey Mudd for thirty years, passed away at his home in Port Townsend, Washington, on 21 March 2014, at age 86.Sandy graduated from Reed College and received … |
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20 March 2015 Matthew Reed (’07) Wins APS Prize HMC Physics alumnus, Matthew D. Reed (’07), was honored with the 2015 Richard L. Greene Dissertation Award in Experimental Condensed Matter or Materials Physics by the American Physical Society. The citation … |
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10 January 2015 Daniel Strenge’s Untimely Demise With sadness I report that Dan Strenge, HMC class of 2006, died on 17 December 2014. Dan “was a fantastic person — kind, thoughtful, receptive — and was wonderfully talented,” said Prof. Richard Haskell, … |
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26 September 2014 Letter from the Chair Dear HMC Physicists, Since last I wrote you two years ago we have had a couple of busy years in the department, added 37 freshly minted majors to your ranks, and shifted much of our teaching activity … |
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16 September 2014 Rojansky, Bell, and Townsend Awards Conferred The Rojansky Writing Award, the Graydon and Louise Bell Prize, and the Townsend Award were conferred on this year’s winners at the first colloquium of the fall semester. Shifrah Aron-Dine won the Rojansky … |
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23 July 2014 Jaron Kent-Dobias named Apker finalist Jaron Kent-Dobias, who conducted research with Professor Andrew Bernoff on two-dimensional fluids with dipole interactions, has been selected as a finalist by the Apker Committee. Two LeRoy Apker Awards … |
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13 June 2014 Sahakian Lands NSF Grant Vatche Sahakian, associate professor of physics at Harvey Mudd College, was recently awarded a continuing three-year, $90,000 grant by the National Science Foundation for his research titled “Quantum Information … |
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18 May 2014 Congratulations to the Class of 2014! Congratulations to the class of 2014. You have kept the tradition alive: number one in bar trivia! Especial thanks to Peter Megson and Andrew Turner on that score. Best of luck as you head off to graduate … |
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1 April 2014 Sheena Patel (’14) and Brendan Folie (’11) Win NSF Fellowships Congratulations to Sheena Patel (’14) and Brendan Folie (’11) on earning NSF Graduate Fellowships in Physics. Brendan is in his first year at U.C. Berkeley after spending two years in the Peace Corps in … |
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6 January 2014 REU Possibilities Many REU program descriptions are sent to the office, usually in paper form, but also electronically. Here are some of them, in case you are interested (application deadlines in parentheses). NASA LARSS (Langley … |
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6 October 2013 Joseph Checkelsky (’04) Named Assistant Professor of Physics at MIT HMC Physics graduate, Joe Checkelsky, has accepted an assistant professorship in the physics department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, starting in January of 2014. After graduating from … |
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11 September 2013 Fire Consumes Part of Bernard Field Station A fire broke out this afternoon (9/11/13) at the Bernard Field Station, consuming roughly 17 acres, and briefly threatening homes to the north of the BFS on Radcliffe. Fire engines, helicopters, and small … |
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3 September 2013 Tom Donnelly Secures NSF Grant The current budget sequester has wrecked havoc with NSF funding schedules and budgets, but we’re happy to report that Tom Donnelly and his UT Austin collaborator, Todd Ditmire, have secured a grant of … |
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23 August 2013 David Coats (’08) and Vedika Khemani (’10) Marry HMC Physics graduates David Coats (’08) and Vedika Khemani (’10) were married today. Vedika is pursuing a PhD in theoretical physics at Princeton. Following his graduation from HMC, David earned a master’s … |
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19 May 2013 Congratulations to the Class of 2013! Congratulations to the class of 2013, who graduated today and heads off to summers in Europe, riding a train up the west coast, Japan, Arizona, northern Minnesota, Jefferson Lab in Virginia, and in many … |
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30 April 2013 Henry Kapteyn (’82) Elected to the National Academy of Sciences HMC Physics grad, Henry Kapteyn (’82), was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences. According to a JILA press release, Kapteyn adds this recognition to a host of prizes, including the Ahmed … |
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8 April 2013 Congratulations to Audy Sederberg and Colin Parker Stephen Fox Parker was born 8 April 2013 to physicists Audy Sederberg and Colin Parker, both of the class of 2006. Congratulations! |
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29 March 2013 Sheena Patel wins a Goldwater Scholarship Junior physics major, Sheena Patel, was one of 271 winners of Goldwater Scholarships announced today. Double physics and math major, Andrew Turner, earned Honorable Mention. Congratulations to both Sheena … |
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17 February 2013 Nate Stern (’03) wins a Sloan Foundation Fellowship HMC physics grad Nathaniel Stern (’03) has won an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship. Stern earned his Ph.D. in physics in David Awschalom’s group at UCSB, then did a post-doc with Jeff Kimble at Caltech … |
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26 November 2012 Update on the Teaching and Learning Building Construction of the new Teaching and Learning Building (TLB) continues apace; the siding will go on starting towards the end of December, and the exterior walls and windows should be completed in early … |
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15 November 2012 HMC group led by Gregory Lyzenga sees solar eclipse in Cairns, Australia HMC eclipse expedition on the beach in Cairns, Australia, waiting for (a) skies to clear and (b) the eclipse. A group of HMC alumni led by Professor Greg Lyzenga (’75) traveled to Cairns, Australia, to … |
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25 September 2012 Bell Prize and Townsend Award Presented Prior to a wonderful colloquium by Caltech astronomer Philip Muirhead, the Townsend Award for outstanding performance in Physics 116 (Quantum Mechanics) was presented to senior Jake Fish and the Graydon … |
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14 September 2012 HMC Team Wins $5000 Edmund Scientific Award A project to develop a system for the remote detection of microbial life in space has garnered Prof. Gregory Lyzenga and collaborators a prize of $5,000 in Edmund Optics products. The device uses laser-induced … |
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3 September 2012 Sharon Gerbode’s work on cucumber tendrils makes a huge splash Read “How the Cucumber Tendril Coils and Overwinds” in Science Watch the AAAS videos narrated by Sharon Gerbode and Joshua Puzey: “How Cucumber Tendrils Hoist Their Payload Sunwards” , “Chasing Sunlight: … |
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30 August 2012 Sharon Gerbode interviewed by the BBC Professor Sharon Gerbode is being interviewed on the James Coomarasamy program on the BBC, about her work on coiling of plant tendrils. She will also appear tomorrow on NPR's Science Friday with Ira Flatow. … |
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30 August 2012 Letter from the Chair Dear HMC Physicists: In 1989 an enthusiastic young full professor in the Department of Physics succeeded Tom Helliwell as department chair. Since he had already served a year as chair during Tom’s sabbatical, … |
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1 July 2012 Alex Himmel (’06) wins Fermilab’s URA Thesis Award HMC Physics graduate, Alexander Himmel (’06), has received Fermilab’s URA Thesis award for the outstanding doctoral thesis of the year. Alex recently earned his PhD from Caltech, where he worked with … |
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30 March 2012 Lucas Brady wins a Goldwater Scholarship Awarded to outstanding students pursuing careers in science, mathematics or engineering, the scholarship will provide up to $7,500 to help cover costs such as tuition, fees, books, and room and board. … |
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29 March 2012 Matthew Carey (’85) Appointed to HHS Committee Matthew Carey (’85) has been appointed one of 15 public members on the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee. According to the Health and Human Services press release Dr. Matthew Carey is the father … |
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20 March 2012 Julien Devin wins an NSF Fellowship; Kali Allison Earns Honorable Mention Senior physics major Julien Devin has been awarded a prestigious NSF graduate fellowship to study quantum optics, which he will take with him to Stanford University in the fall. Senior physics major Kali … |
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27 February 2012 Eric Fullerton (’84) wins AIP Prize HMC physics alumnus, Eric Fullerton (’84), has won the 2012 AIP Prize for Industrial Applications of Physics. He is being honored for his work enhancing the density of magnetic recording media. Professor … |
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4 October 2011 Paul Riggins (’12) awarded Astronaut Scholarship Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, the first person to perform an untethered spacewalk, presented the Astronaut Scholarship to Paul Riggins (’12). Riggins is one of only 26 students nationwide this year to … |
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1 June 2011 Neal Pisenti is Apker Finalist Neal Pisenti, who conducted research with Professor Theresa Lynn on quantum optics, has been selected as a finalist by the Apker Committee. Two LeRoy Apker Awards are given annually by the American Physical … |
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23 February 2011 Donnelly Group Paper Goes Viral! According to the editors of the American Institute of Physics’s Review of Scientific Instruments, the Donnelly group 2009 paper “Generation of Mie size microdroplet aerosols with applications in laser-driven … |
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9 February 2011 Sharon Gerbode joins Physics Department The Department of Physics completed a successful search for a tenure-track assistant professor by hiring Sharon Gerbode, currently a post-doc at Harvard. Sharon was pursuing a creative writing major … |
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22 July 2010 Physics Department loses its first member Graydon D. Bell, first member of the HMC Department of Physics, died at his home in Claremont on 20 July 2010. Gray came to Harvey Mudd College from Caltech in 1957, having previously taught at Robert … |
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17 July 2009 Andrew Higginbotham (’09) is Apker finalist Senior physics major Andrew Higginbotham has won a prestigious Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship to study next year at Churchill College, the University of Cambridge. Andrew is the third HMC physics … |
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9 July 2009 Donnelly-Group Paper Highlighted The American Institute of Physics featured a paper published by Prof. Tom Donnelly, his students, and his coworkers in Prof. Todd Ditmire's group at the University of Texas at Austin as the research highlight … |
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2 July 2009 Letter from the Chair PDF version July 2009 Dear HMC Physicists: It has been fours years since I last wrote to many of you, so I want to bring you up to date on what has happened in the Department of Physics in the intervening … |
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10 March 2009 Andrew Higginbotham (’09) wins a Churchill Fellowship Senior physics major Andrew Higginbotham has won a prestigious Winston Churchill Foundation Scholarship to study next year at Churchill College, the University of Cambridge. Andrew is the third HMC physics … |
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22 September 2008 Jim Eckert wins APS Prize to a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution Professor James C. Eckert was named this year’s winner of the American Physical Society’s Prize to a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution. “The Prize was established to honor a physicist … |
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4 September 2008 Stan Love (’87) Delivers Convocation Address HMC physics major and NASA astronaut Stan Love returned to Galileo Hall to address the question “Where should we go?” as part of Convocation on 4 September 2008. Dr. Love, who flew on a Shuttle mission earlier … |
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18 July 2008 Greg Minton is Apker Finalist Gregory Minton, who conducted research with Professor Vatche Sahakian on a new approach to understanding inhomogeneities in the cosmic microwave background using string theory, has been selected as a finalist … |
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1 March 2008 Adam Edwards Joins Physics Department Experimental high-energy physicist Adam Edwards will join the Harvey Mudd College Department of Physics starting in the summer of 2008. Prof. Edwards is currently a post-doctoral teaching fellow at Pomona … |
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20 November 2007 Dessertfest 2007 Concerned that students were approaching the Thanksgiving holiday without sufficient training in overeating, the Physics Department staged its annual Dessertfest on the Tuesday before the festival of tryptophan. … |
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9 October 2007 Tenure-track position The Department of Physics invites applications for a tenure-track appointment at the assistant professor level, beginning September 2008. In exceptional circumstances a more senior appointment may be considered. … |
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3 October 2006 Stephanie Moyerman wins the Apker Award! Stephanie Moyerman is the third Harvey Mudd physics student to win the American Physical Society’s Apker Award. The award honors the outstanding physics students in the country. Two awards are made each … |
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11 September 2006 Stephanie Moyerman is Apker finalist Stephanie Moyerman is one of three finalists for the American Physical Society’s Apker Award for the outstanding undergraduate in physics at a non-PhD-granting institution. Because Stephanie is currently … |
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15 March 2006 Theresa Lynn Joins the Physics Department The Department of Physics is delighted to report the successful completion of our search in the fields of quantum optics, atmospheric physics, and soft condensed matter physics with the hiring of Theresa … |
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12 September 2005 Letter from the Department Chair September 2005 Dear HMC Physics Alum: It has been two years since I last wrote to many of you, so I want to bring you up to date on what has happened recently in the Department of Physics. As you may recall, … |
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31 May 2005 Adam Pivonka one of 15 Hertz Fellows for 2005 Senior physicist Adam Pivonka (’05) was one of only 15 winners nationwide of the prestigious Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship this year. The Fellowship is awarded for outstanding academic … |
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12 May 2005 Teraist attack!!! Thanks, folks! You made our day. |
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23 March 2005 Prof. Eckert celebrates pie day! The IHTP club’s annual pie day celebration was particularly memorable for the physics department this year, as our very own Jim Eckert was the “winner” in a very competitive bidding process. Despite the … |
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15 February 2005 Senior physicists take the faculty out to Bombay Bistro Senior physics majors organized a dinner outing for the department to Bombay Bistro in appreciation for our efforts, and particularly advice and letters of recommendation. In a delightful twist and surprise … |
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14 September 2004 HMC Alum Dies in Small Plane Crash HMC physics graduate Christina Blake (’99) and three others were killed on July 18 when the small plane in which she was flying went down north of Anchorage, Alaska. The plane was piloted by her boyfriend, … |
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1 August 2004 Joe Checkelsky (’04) is Apker finalist Joe Checkelsky (’04) was selected as one of four finalist for the American Physical Society’s Apker Award for the outstanding undergraduate in physics of 2004. |
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17 December 1996 Bercovici (’82) Wins Macelwane Medal Congratulations to HMC physics alumnus David Bercovici (’82), who was awarded the James B. Macelwane Medal for significant contributions to the geophysical sciences by a young scientist of outstanding … |
Prof. Jack Waggoner passes away after a long illness
3 July 2016
Retired Professor Jack Holmes Waggoner died on the morning of 2 July 2016, according to a nurse at Pilgrim Place, where Waggoner resided following the 2013 death of his beloved wife Anne. He is survived by a brother who lives in Indiana.
Jack was born in 1929 in Ohio and earned his doctorate in 1957 at the Ohio State University with a dissertation on molecular energy levels, particularly infrared vibration-rotation bands. From 1959 to 1961 Jack taught at the University of Californbia, Riverside, and then joined the physics faculty at HMC in 1961 and taught many courses. He had a particular fondness for Theoretical Mechanics. Professor Waggoner retired in 1994, but remained a presence in the department for many years thereafter.
Jack enjoyed target shooting and archery, collecting model cars, and reading biography and history. He assembled an extensive personal library of books on many subjects. He built his own “hi-fi” system so that he could listen to classical music. Jack’s wife Anne, who regularly attended department and college events with Jack, died in 2013. They had no children. Over the past few years, Jack suffered a series of strokes that left him largely incapacitated. He is survived by his brother Chandler Waggoner, who lives in Indiana.
Jack was a gentle, friendly man and an important part of the development of our physics program—he will be missed.
