Another physicist joins the ranks of Distinguished
University Professors
Frank C. De Lucia was one of two Ohio State faculty members
recognized this year with the prestigious title of Distinguished
University Professor. He joins other Distinguished University
Professors in the Department of Physics: Bunny Clark, Art
Epstein, and David Edwards (Emeritus).
The university noted in the story released to the media that
Frank and this year’s other Distinguished University Professor, Joseph H. Lynch in history, both represent disciplines that have
won Selective Investment from the university. The story also went
on to discuss De Lucia’s background and accomplishments in
detail:
Frank C. De Lucia came to Ohio State from Duke University
in 1990, bringing his laboratory, students, and postdoctoral
researchers with him. He chaired the Department of Physics at
Ohio State from the time of his arrival until 1998. During his
tenure as chair, the department earned several university honors
and a new building for physics was secured. De Lucia, according
to a colleague, “set the tone and established an atmosphere in which the department could focus on and excel in its instructional
mission.” In addition, during those years, the Department of
Physics made the largest gain in National Research Council ranking
of any physics department in the country, as well as the largest gain
of any department at Ohio State.
De Lucia is considered by peers to be a world-class scientist, a
revered scholar, and a kind and generous colleague. Conducting
research that lies at the intersection of physics, chemistry, astronomy,
and electrical engineering, De Lucia is credited with
developing new methods to study the sub-millimeter
wave electromagnetic spectrum and
making important advances in instrumentation.
His research interests also include the spectroscopy
of small, fundamental molecules, collisional
processes and mechanisms, the excitation and
study of excited states, and molecules of atmospheric
and astronomical importance. At Ohio State, De Lucia was an organizer and
founder of the newly formed Spectroscopy
Institute, which resulted from a successful
Academic Enrichment proposal prepared by the
chemical physics program, of which De Lucia is a
member. He was chair when the Department of
Physics received Selective Investment funding and had just stepped down as chair when physics received its
Departmental
Teaching Excellence Award. De Lucia also is one of 11 Ohio
State physicists to have received the Distinguished Scholar Award.
Among his many other awards, De Lucia is a recipient of the
Max Planck Research Prize and in 1992 was named a fellow of the
American Physical Society. He held several teaching appointments
and served as chair of the Department of Physics at Duke University
between 1985 and 1988, and has been director of the Microwave
Laboratory—located at Ohio State and Duke—since 1979.
De Lucia earned his bachelor’s degree from Iowa Wesleyan College
and his Ph.D. from Duke.
A date with
destiny
The year was 1958. A Marine
landing craft crashed through
the clear blue waves of the
Eastern Mediterranean. On the ship, a
nervous group of Marines prepared to
invade Lebanon, while a young ensign
thought to himself, “Hell, even physics
graduate school must be better than
this.” Thus was Bill Palmer’s career in
physics launched.
Bill received his A.B. in physics
from Harvard, and, after serving in the
Navy, he got his Ph.D. at Johns
Hopkins. He became a professor of
physics at Ohio State in 1969. Bill’s
research specialty is theoretical high-energy
physics; in the last few years, he
concentrated on the decay modes of the
b-quark. He also served as the State of Ohio Science Officer for Governor
Celeste in 1989-90. However, Bill was
best known to many of us as the vice
chair for Undergraduate Studies, a post
he assumed in 1994 and only relinquished
upon his retirement in 1999.
Bill’s impact on the undergraduate
program was profound. Under his stewardship, the number of physics majors
increased significantly, as did the number awards won by our majors. As part of his
recruiting drive, Bill initiated an annual
open house for high school students. At
these now-traditional events,
plastic bottles of liquid
nitrogen explode, pickles are
electrocuted under high
voltage, and students are
introduced to the excitement physics at Ohio State. At the
other end of the pipeline, Bill
labored to help our undergraduates
win prestigious
national awards. Our majors
now routinely win one or two
Goldwater Scholarships each
year, and physics accounts for
half of all of the Goldwaters
received by Ohio State
students. Our best students students. Our best students
have also been winning prestigious NSF
graduate fellowships, and one of our
students won a Marshall Scholarship under
Bill’s tutelage.
Bill also promoted our department in
university competitions. He helped to
assemble the proposal that won a Selective
Investment Award in the first round of competition, and he was instrumental in
developing the nomination package for
the Departmental Teaching Award that we
won two years ago. Bill actively promoted
faculty for University Distinguished
Teaching Awards, and two physics faculty
received these awards under his tenure.
Even after retirement, Bill has continued
to help the physics department on
special assignments, such as proposal
writing, and he still serves as overall
supervisor of the Research Experience for
Undergraduates Program (REU), which
brings undergraduates from all over the
country to Ohio State for summer
research projects with Ohio State physics
faculty.
Finally, no description of Bill’s
activities would be complete without a
discussion of his role on the committee
organizing the new building. His tireless
and continuing pursuit of truth and clarity
in the midst of this often-Byzantine
process will always be remembered; even
if, like Moses, he didn’t get the chance to
cross over into “the Promised Building.”
At least, he’ll get an emeritus office there.
And he won’t have to wander through the
desert to find the new building.
— Robert Scherrer
Van de Graaff reunion
S
eeing old friends and talking about good times—the
reunion of people involved with the Van de Graaff
Laboratory here at Ohio State, took place in June 2000.
Van de Graaffers, as they are affectionately called, and spouses
enjoyed a weekend of food and physics. The reunion started
Friday with a lunch, followed by tours of current research labs
in Smith Lab, a van tour of the new Science and Technology
Campus (Sci-Tech) on Kinnear Road, a meeting with Ora
Smith, president of the Sci-Tech campus,
and dinner at the Fawcett Center. 
Before
dinner, a string quartet entertained while
attendees enjoyed photo displays from the
University’s Archives where Van de Graaffers
were invited to offer captions. Saturday’s
activities included breakfast with Evan
Sugarbaker, who discussed the program in
heavy ion physics which searched for the
quark gluon plasma, and Richard Boyd, who
described current research in neutrino
physics, including international connections.
After breakfast, the reunion returned to the
Van de Graaff Lab for Howard Dyke’s
thorough tours and discussions, followed by
a barbecue, of course. Van de Graaffers even
played a little volleyball–and hopefully
everyone has
recovered by now.
Administrative
support from
mailing lists to
menus and
nametags to hotel
reservations were
handled ably and
effectively by Mary
Smith at the Van de
Graaff Lab and
Kathi Hess in the
College of Mathematical
and
Physical Sciences.
Drivers John
Whitcomb and Mark Reed kept Van de Graaffers in line and
made sure they got safely back to the hotel. These folks deserve
a big pat on the back and thanks from everyone who enjoyed
the activities of the weekend.
In February, President Kirwan hosted the annual “Salute to
Undergraduate Achievement” dinner. Every year, one department
is selected to be the featured “entertainment,” and this year,
students were treated to interactive displays and an outstanding
informational video by one of the country’s best physics departments.
The 10-minute video features physics faculty answering the
question “Why study physics?” as well as a brief look at the major
areas of research here at Ohio State. Extra videotapes were
distributed to physics teachers throughout Ohio. If you are
interested in ordering one, please call Robert Scherrer at (614)
292-5713 or send him e-mail at scherrer.1@osu.edu.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and
Excellence in Education Foundation was
created in 1986 in honor of the Arizona
senator. The scholarship, awarded to
undergraduate sophomores and juniors,
aims to encourage outstanding students to
pursue careers in mathematics, the natural
sciences, and engineering.
Scholarship recipients are selected by an
independent review committee appointed
by the foundation. The one- and two-year
scholarships cover tuition, fees, books, and
room and board up to a maximum of
$7,500 per year. All Ohio State recipients
will receive a one-year scholarship.
Matt Buoni, an engineering physics
major, has been working in plasma physics
with Professor Vish Subramaniam in
mechanical engineering. He plans to attend
graduate school where he will study
condensed matter theory. Buoni, a 1996
graduate of Liberty Christian Academy in
Columbus, is the son of James and
LouAnne Buoni, 3156 Scottwood Road,
Columbus.
Other national award winners from
physics include Ryan Barnett and Matthew
Dorsten, recipients of 2000 NSF Graduate
Fellowships, and Keith Edwards, winner of
a 2000 DOE Nuclear Engineering and
Health Physics Fellowship.
In addition to the pictures on this page and on the cover, you
can see more of the new Van de Graaff Reunion web site at
www.physics.ohio-state.edu (click on alumni and follow the links to
Van de Graaff lab). Archive photos from the event as well as the
best shots taken during the weekend are available for viewing. In
order to help everyone stay in touch, the physics department also
offers a page of current names, addresses, and e-mail addresses.
Share it with other physicists from Ohio State, but no
telemarketers!
