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Robert Perry Recognized for Distinguished Service

Colleagues say Robert Perry has served on most of the committees in the Department of Physics. He has chaired several departmental search committees and has served on college committees as well. Perry has served on the University Senate three times, including chairing the Rules Committee and Research Committee. As vice chair of the Research Commission, he was instrumental in producing a report that influenced the development of the Academic Plan. He is noted for providing a creative approach to deliberating the issues at hand. “He can be challeng-ing and stimulating almost to the point of playfulness —and it is this aspect of his persona that makes him such a breath of fresh air—but he is deeply serious about academic values and the good of Ohio State,” a colleague wrote. Perry is also an active scholar, contributing to the development of light-front quantum chromodynamics and the renormalization group, and recently was named a fellow of the American Physical Society. “I am most proud of supervising six successful Ph.D. students, as well as mentoring many undergraduate students on research projects.”

Because of his combined strengths, he is called by colleagues “one of the gems we have on campus” and “a good citizen.” He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 1984 and joined the Ohio State faculty in 1987. This past autumn he began an appointment as Associate Dean of the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

Four Department of Physics Faculty Named APS Fellows

The American Physical Society (APS) has recognized four members of the Ohio State faculty for their contributions to physics research. Richard Furnstahl, Ulrich Heinz, Ciriyam Jayaprakash, and Robert Scherrer, all professors of physics, were among 190 Fellows named by the APS last year.

“I am proud of the new recipients of the prestigious nomination,” said Robert Gold, Dean of the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. “I am pleased with the progress that the Department of Physics continues to make towards increased national and international recognition.”

Furnstahl won this honor for his “pioneering contributions to the nuclear many-body problem, including developments in relativistic many-body theory, QCD sum roles at finite density, and effective field theory at finite density.” His work has paved the way for a deeper understanding of how particles interact in atomic nuclei.

Heinz was named Fellow for his “original work on the kinetic theory of relativistic quantum systems and his contributions to our understanding of the dynamics and thermodynamics of relativistic heavy ion collisions.” Scientists hope to learn about nuclear structure and the physics of the early universe from such experiments.

Jayaprakash was chosen for his “distinguished work on the statistical physics of Josephson junction arrays, crystal shapes, the two-impurity Kondo problem, and classical non-equilibrium systems.” The development of new electronic devices depends on such technologies, which concern how materials conduct electrons.

Scherrer was named Fellow for his “contributions to a broad range of topics in cosmology, including primordial nucleosynthesis, particle physics in the early universe, large-scale structure, topological defects, scalar field evolution and Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropy.” This work attempts to explain how the interaction of subatomic particles in the early universe led to the expanse of stars and galaxies we know today.

The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who made advances in knowledge through original research and publication, or made significant and innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology. They may also have made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the society. Each year, no more than one-half of one percent of the society’s members are recognized by their peers for election to the status of Fellow in the American Physical Society.

from left:
Richard Furnstahl
Ulrich Heinz
Robert Scherrer
Ciriyam Jayaprakash

John Whitcomb Wins Distinguished Staff Award

With a deep appreciation for teamwork, thanks to 25 years in the Air Force, John Whitcomb has performed Department Manager duties in the Department of Physics for more than eight years. This retired Lieutenant Colonel might never have thought of the Department of Physics as his “dream retirement job” but certainly the university should dream of a John Whitcomb in every department for the ultimate in effectiveness – and characteristic modesty. “It’s as though he’s been here for 100 years,” remarked a nominee. “There have been so many improvements in so many areas that it’s hard to imagine what the department would be like without him.” As a recipient of the Distinguished Staff Award of 2001, John “epitomized the traits that set aside this recognition as being so cherished: crisp focus on the quality of work life for colleagues and customers, unparalleled service, and innovative problem-solving skills.” His skill at managing a staff of excellent colleagues is evidenced by the smooth running of the department from both an internal and external perspective. He has responded during crisis situations, managing a flood on Christmas Eve, but is just as effective at handling the day-to-day activities and needs of faculty, students, and co-workers. His attitude is “get the job done!” and he has managed the necessary details of special events, ranging from the special cleanup of Hitchcock Hall prior to the prestigious Smith Lecture to driving a van full of Van de Graaff alumni on a tour of West Campus, plus a nearly $200 thousand renovation that transformed old library space into a study and computer area for students. He has organized departmental events, such as the Spring Picnic, that are eagerly anticipated by students, faculty, and staff year after year, “adding immeasurably to the collegiality of the department.” He even brought all the departments in the college together during the annual Community Charity Drive by organizing a college-wide pizza and bake sale that serves to build camaraderie among people who have never before had the opportunity to work together. John simply makes Ohio State a better place to work for all those who have the great opportunity to work with him.

Beyond the department, John and his wife Dorothy are leaders in Campus International Families, welcoming families from around the globe into their home on traditional “American” holidays. In addition, they founded “Buckeye Friends,” a support group that serves people in central and southern Ohio with Polycystic Kidney Disease.

John was delightfully surprised by his award, and, true to form, was heard to remark: “Better DIStinguished than EXtinguished.”

Arthur Epstein Named Distinguished Lecturer

Arthur Epstein shakes hands with then-president William E. Kirwan (right) during a special halftime show honoring the distinguished staff and faculty of Ohio State.

Arthur Epstein, already a Distinguished University Professor of Physics and Chemistry, has another university honor to add to the list: on May 1, 2002, he delivered a University Distinguished Lecture, “Nanotechnology, Plastics, and Your Investments.” The Distinguished Lecture program offers outstanding faculty at Ohio State the opportunity to discuss their work with the university community. In addition, the program carries with it a $5,000 award to support an academic program or project of their choice. He has chosen to support the “Physics Commons” in the new Physics Research Building, an attractive space to promote and enhance interactions and collaborations between students and faculty.

Epstein, also the director for the Center for Materials Research, is an internationally recognized expert on polymers that conduct electricity. One of his best-known inventions is the world’s first plastic magnet. He has also received the University Distinguished Scholar Award and is credited with substantially increasing interdisciplinary research and education at Ohio State. Please turn to page 14 for an update on his latest discovery: the world’s first light-tunable magnet.

Philip Wigen Named “IEEE Magnetics Society Distinguished Lecturer” and “Retired”?

Philip Wigen retired last winter after a long and highly productive career at Ohio State. At his retirement celebration, friends presented him with a digital camera. In truth, it is impossible to believe that Phil is retired. His very active research program continues, including frequent visits to Caltech, where he carries on a very active collaboration with faculty there. This past November he served as the general chair of the national Conference on Magnetism and Magnetic Materials in Seattle. He is an IEEE Magnetics Society Distinguished Lecturer, and the focus of his talks are Ferromagnetic Resonance Force Microscopy: Probing Ferromagnets at the Micrometer Level.

As the evolution of fabrication methods to produce materials and devices with nanoscale dimensions, there is a need for the development of new techniques to characterize the materials of miniaturized devices at these scales. In the field of magnetic materials, such innovative devices include spintronic elements and submicrometer memory storage elements. Magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM) is a new technique with a projected sensitivity sufficient to enable single spin detection (electron or nuclear) at atomic resolution. It combines the principles of magnetic resonance with those of scanned-probe force detection to detect the spin resonance through mechanical, rather than inductive, means.

Ferromagnetic resonance force microscopy (FMRFM) is a variant of MRFM developed for the investigation of microscopic ferromagnets. FMRFM takes advantage of the strength of the magnetic field of the microscopic probe magnet to determine three distinct regimes of interaction with the local ferromagnetic moment: (1) the weak field limit, where ferromagnetic dynamics are solely determined by the sample dimensions and internal energies, (2) an intermediate regime, where the local perturbation of the probe field alters the intensities of the ferromagnetic modes but not their resonant frequencies, and (3) the strong interaction limit, where the ferromagnetic resonance mode is entirely determined by the probe field and independent of the sample geometry.

Philip Wigen (M’90) received the B.S. degree in chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University in 1955 and the Ph.D. in physics from Michigan State University in 1960. He was a research scientist with the Lockheed Research Laboratories in Palo Alto, California, from 1960 to 1965 where he initiated his work on ferromagnetic resonance in magnetic metal films.

In 1965 he joined the physics faculty of The Ohio State University where he continued his work on the dynamical properties of ferromagnetic materials including ferromagnetic resonance, magnetic domain wall resonance, and chaos in magnetic systems. His recent work in magnetic resonance force microscopy has been pursued in collaboration with Roukes’ group at the California Institute of Technology, where he holds a visiting professorship, and Hammel’s group at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Professor Wigen is a fellow of the American Physical Society.

E. Leonard Jossem Honored with Distinguished Service Award

Although listed as an emeritus professor of physics at Ohio State, E. Leonard Jossem can be found at work in Smith Laboratory each weekday. His tireless service to the university and to physics was recognized when he was honored at the 2001 Summer Commencement with the University Distinguished Service Award. He has spent more than a half-century in service to his discipline.

Jossem earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from The City College of New York in 1938 and his master’s and doctorate degrees in condensed matter physics from Cornell University in 1939 and 1950, respectively. During World War II, he was a member of the scientific staff at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the Advanced Develop-ments Division. Joining the faculty in 1956, Jossem served as chair of the Department of Physics from 1967 to 1980, retiring in 1989. During his tenure at Ohio State, the Department of Physics grew in quality and reputation, becoming known for its emphasis on good teaching.

Long interested in physics education, he was a member of the Commission on College Physics, serving as chair from 1966 to 1971, during which time the commission’s work fundamentally changed the way physics was taught in this country. He is a past president of the American Association of Physics Teachers, and has continued to serve on many of its various committees. Currently he is Chair of the AAPT Area Committee on Teacher Preparation. The AAPT has awarded him its Oersted Medal and its Phillips Medal.

He has served also with the International Commission on Physics Education of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics both as its secretary and as its chair (1981–1993), and was awarded the Commission’s Medal for Excellence in 1995. He has been a member of the Committee on the Teaching of Science of the International Council of Scientific Unions and of the UNESCO-Physics Action Council Working Group on University Physics Education. Jossem is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Fellow of The Institute of Physics (London), and a Life Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts (London).

Bunny Clark honored as Commencement Speaker

Each year, one of Ohio State’s finest and most respected faculty is honored with the chance to speak to the university’s winter graduating class. Bunny C. Clark, nuclear physicist and professor, took the podium before more than 1,400 graduates, their families, and guests at St. John Arena on March 16, 2001.

Clark, somewhat jokingly, apologized to graduates for not being Bill Cosby, one of the country’s most beloved comic icons and the scheduled speaker for spring commencement.

“I know how disappointed you must have been when you learned that Ohio State’s speaker for spring commencement will be Bill Cosby, and you get stuck with some physicist,” she said. “And it’s not even a famous physicist, like Stephen Hawking or Leonard Nimoy. I sympathize with you completely. I’d rather be sitting out there with you and listening to Bill Cosby, too.”

But many who know Clark, either personally or by reputation alone, would say she has nothing to apologize for. Highly regarded in the scientific community, she is considered a pioneer in the field of physics, especially in the relativistic treatment of nuclear reactions. Clark’s honors go on to include being named recipient of the Faculty Award for Distinguished University Service and the University Distinguished Research Award.

Clark’s path to the podium began more than 60 years ago, when, as a little girl, she gazed out in wonder at the stars in the Texas sky and was filled with the dreams of tomorrow.

“It was that vast and wonderful night sky that led me to become a scientist,” she said. “I was just four years old. My mom refers to that moment as ‘the night I caught the star bug.’ ’’

“Fortunately, instead of trying to cure me, my parents encouraged me,” she continued. “While other parents were reading ‘The Three Bears,’ mine picked up the encyclopedia and read to me about stars and planets. I was hooked. At a tender age, I knew I had to be a scientist. I fell in love with science, and it became my greatest passion.”

Clark recounted some of the obstacles she encountered on her way to realizing her dreams.

“Those obstacles started right away,” she said. “I ignored I don’t know how many comments, like: ‘Bunny, why don’t you go into library science?’ ‘Bunny, you should learn how to type.’ Physics was not supposed to be women’s work. However, I figured out that intelligence was not linked to the Y chromosome.”

Clark earned a bachelor of science degree with honors in physics and mathematics in 1958 and a master’s degree in physics in 1963 from Kansas State University, and, in 1973, she received a doctorate in theoretical physics from Wayne State University. She is a fellow of the APS and the AAAS.

Picture of Dr. B. Clark: “Live long and prosper.”

Picture of Professor Bunny Clark with (former) Ohio State President William E. Kirwan

Over the years, Clark said, she has realized her second passion: teaching. “Working with students is a genuine joy. I’ve acquired a new world of knowledge from you, and I will always be indebted. So on this day when we all say ‘Congrat-ulations’ to you, I also want to add, ‘Thank you.’”

With that, Clark offered graduates one very important piece of advice.

“When you’re looking for your future, it’s always best to follow your passions,” she said. “No matter what path you take, no matter what challenges you face, no matter what goals you achieve, I hope that you will always pursue your passion. This life is yours alone to live. Cherish it.

“Buckeye graduates, I wish you great joy,” Clark said. “Live long and prosper.”

Clark receives Maxwell and Fowler Awards

Adding to her long list of awards and accolades, Professor Bunny Clark has received the Howard Maxwell Award from the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society. The award is given for distinguished service to the Ohio Section. She has also received the William Fowler Award from the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society—the only person ever to receive both awards.

The William Fowler Award for Distinguished Research in Physics honors those members of the American Physical Society with “appreciable connections to the State of Ohio, and who have done outstanding research in physics.” OSAPS created the award in honor of William Fowler, an Ohio State graduate in Engineering Physics, who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1983 for his work on stellar nucleosynthesis.

She received the Fowler award from the Ohio Section of the American Physical Society (OSAPS) for distinguished research in nuclear physics. OSAPS concurrently honored Clark for her tireless efforts to promote research among under-graduates and to encourage underrepresented groups to pursue a career in physics.

Frank C. De Lucia wins William F. Meggers Award of the Optical Society of America

Frank C. De Lucia was honored in 2001 with the William F. Meggars award, which recognizes outstanding work in spectroscopy. De Lucia’s research lies at the intersection of physics, chemistry, astronomy, and electrical engineering. At the core of his work has been the development and scientific exploitation of spectroscopic techniques for the submillimeter region of the electromagnetic spectrum. These have included studies of most of the small fundamental molecular species and investigations of collisional processes at cold astrophysical and quantum collisional temperatures. These methods and lines of investigation have been widely adopted.

Professor DeLucia was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, attended public schools in Iowa, received a B.S. from Iowa Wesleyan College, and a Ph.D. from Duke University. Prior to coming to Ohio State as chair of the Department of Physics, he was professor of Physics at Duke University where he also served as department chair. In 1992 he was awarded the Max Planck research prize in physics.

The Status of Women and Minorities in Physics

This special program, held at the joint DNP/JPS meeting, was organized by Professor Bunny Clark of Ohio State and Takaharu Otsuka, University of Tokyo. It was, by all measures, a great success. More than 120 people attended the joint session, which was held on Thursday, October 18, 2001, in the beautiful Lokelain I and II Ballroom at the Maui Outrigger Resort. By all accounts future joint meetings of the DNP and JPS nuclear physicists would include a similar program as part of the meeting. Please visit the DNP web site to see some photos taken at this very special event.

The distinguished speakers, Dr. Judy Franz, APS Executive Officer, and Professor Masako Bando, Aichi University, gave exciting and interesting presentations. Both Dr. Franz and Professor Bando also attended the IUPAP International Conference on Women in Physics, March 7-9 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Professor Bando presented the talk about the status of women physicists in Japan.

The following organizations supported the program: The Physical Society of Japan (JPS), The APS Committee on Minorities, The APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics, Argonne National Laboratory, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the Southeastern Universities Research Association.

John Wilkins Elected to Leadership in APS Division of Condensed Matter

John Wilkins, Ohio Eminent Scholar and professor in the Department of Physics, has been elected vice chair of the American Physical Society’s Division of Condensed Matter. This is really a four-year position. From vice chair, he’ll become chair-elect, followed by chair and then post-chair. Always modest, John has requested that we use “his” space to promote the prodigious accomplishments of Kaden Hazzard, an under-graduate working in Dr. Wilkins’ lab.

Kaden, currently a junior majoring in physics, presented a paper at the APS March meeting—the national meeting for nine divisions, six forums (including the one for Industrial and Applied Physics, larger than any division), three focus groups, and two committees. “It is really big,” said Professor Wilkins. “I can’t swear he was the only sophomore giving a talk, but there can’t be many.”

This is nearly unheard of for such a young student, but it’s hardly his first accolade. Kaden began working in Dr. Wilkins’ research group just a few days after graduating from high school. He took classes at Ohio State that summer, including a workshop at the Ohio Super Computer Center aimed at graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. As a freshman, he was one of the first students to receive an Undergraduate Research Award from the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), and he has just been awarded his third grant from SRC for his research in Dr. Wilkins’ group. He spent the summer of 2002 at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing research there, as well.

Richard Boyd and Leonard Brillson Selected as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Two faculty in the department were selected last year as Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: Richard Boyd and Leonard Brillson, who is also a professor of Electrical Engineering.

Boyd was selected for, “distinguished contributions to the fields of nuclear physics and nuclear astrophysics, especially to experimental applications of radioactive nuclear beams to issues in nuclear astrophysics.” Brillson earned this honor through “distinguished con-tributions to the understanding and control of semiconductor interfaces and to the development of nanometer scale analytical techniques.”

Richard Boyd came to Ohio State in 1978 as a nuclear physicist. “That’s what all my research was in at the time,” he explained. “That’s what I was being funded to do.” But then he attended a conference that changed his research direction.

“I was talking with a friend who asked about some unclear data that he had wanted for a particular nuclear reaction,” he said. However, the target lived for only a few minutes, so experimental study of the reactions was impossible. From there, Boyd began to work on a method to capture the same data through a slightly different process.

“My greatest compliment came when Willie Fowler (renowned Nobel Laureate and Ohio State graduate) became supportive of the process,” said Boyd. “He was so well-known and well-respected that he easily sold the idea to the research community despite that fact that I was really an outsider.”

Understanding the production of unstable nuclei through radioactive beams led to studying similar reactions that take place in stars. “Nature gives us conditions that can’t be produced in a lab,” said Boyd. “When a star explodes, the conditions that can exist may be so extreme that the nuclear reactions that take place can involve extremely unstable nuclei. Since these often can’t be produced in the laboratory, we have to guess what processes actually occurred, and then infer what stable nuclei they would ultimately have produced. It’s really a matter of looking for smoking guns. We find nuclei that are unique, that can’t be produced any other way.”

Boyd and his colleagues also search for the neutrino, perhaps the most abundant particle in the universe. Despite huge numbers, neutrinos are difficult to detect: they are so weakly interacting that they tend to pass through objects without interacting. One of the great difficulties in observing the neutrino is the interference from the cosmic radiation that surrounds the earth. “I always like to say the best way to find a needle in a haystack is to get rid of the haystack,” said Boyd. So when searching for neutrinos, detectors are built deep underground.

“We’re working on a new detector right now in Carlsbad, New Mexico, that we hope to have completed just before the next supernova explodes,” Boyd said with a smile. “We estimate that stars explode about once every 20 years, so we hope we’re ready for it.” Such an explosion should bombard the earth with neutrinos that we will be able to “see” with the new detector, he added.

Len Brillson arrived at Ohio State in 1996 after a 20-year career with Xerox, where he started as a research scientist, eventually reaching the position of department head. “I always wanted to undertake a vigorous basic research program,” he said. Research was important at Xerox, but obviously focused on how to make better copiers. “Physicists bring a unique perspective to product development,” he said. “They have been taught to think in new directions. Too often engineers are not trained to do that. On the other hand, we become better physicists with the influence of engineers who force us to think about the applicability of our research.”

Here at Ohio State, Brillson conducts atomic-scale electronic and chemical studies of metallic and heterojunction interfaces, initially involving wide-band gap semiconductors such GaN, SiC and Si-based dielectrics. His monograph describing the properties of metal contacts to semiconductors discovered using an ultrahigh vacuum is cited widely as the seminal paper on the topic. “As computer chips get smaller and smaller, we need to understand the best way to prevent charge from 'breaking through' these insulating, ultra-thin layers,” he said.

Brillson is also widely known for his presentation on the “Changing Roles of Researchers In Industry.” “Industry requires more interdisciplinary knowledge,” he explained. “The ability to talk to others, even sales and marketing, is more important than ever. Teams at Xerox [for example] included engineers, researchers, and even sales and marketing staff.”