2000 News & Events Archive

Two Department Faculty Receive Awards

December 2000: Eight General Education Teaching Awards were presented during a holiday reception on December 6th at the Town and Gown. Two were awarded to our department faculty. Dr. Gene Bickers, Associate Chair, received the award for Physics 100 and Dr. Werner Däppen for Astronomy 100.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy is proud to have Professors Bickers and Däppen on our faculty and join with the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in congratulating them on their outstanding instructional skills, enthusiasm and their ability to generate true inquisitiveness among students.

Alumni Luncheon

December 2000: The department hosted our first Alumni Luncheon on December 2nd, for alumni residing in the Southern California area. There were 15 alumni in attendance and it was wonderful to hear about the various career paths they have followed. Of the 15 attendees, six had graduated throughout the 1950's, four in the 1970's, two during the 1980's and three from the 1990's. It was an excellent opportunity for classmates to meet once again and catch up. Tu-nan Chang, Department Chair, gave a short welcoming speech and a tour of the campus after lunch. Several of our faculty were also present for the event. The luncheon was extremely successful and the department is looking into ways to expand and include more of our alumni. We would like to thank those who made time during this busy season to attend and look forward to continuing contact.

Cristoph von der Malsburg receives Koerber Prize

September 2000: Christoph von der Malsburg, joint appointee in the USC departments of Computer Science, Biology and Physics, was awarded the Koerber Prize for Science in Europe 2000. The specific work proposed by von der Malsburg is centered on the phenomenon of temporal signal binding in the brain. The department joins with USC in congratulating Professor von der Malsburg.

T.A. work recognized

August 2000: Three of our superior Teaching Assistants were recognized for their outstanding achievements. Tony Lopez was awarded $500 for 'Outstanding TA'. Tony's work with the students and the faculty is exemplary. The $250 award for 'Most Improved TA' was given to Yuxiang Luo. His work has consistently improved throughout his teaching. A 'Special Recognition' award and $250 was presented to Andre Koutouza for his outstanding service to the department. The department is proud to have such outstanding TA's and we thank them for their efforts and hard work.

High School Lab Program successful again

July 2000: During the week July 10-14, department faculty and students joined together for the second annual summer lab program for high school students. The program, which is known as PhLaSH (Physics Labs for Students in High School), invited 11 students from area high schools to join faculty and students on campus. While here, the students completed a variety of lab experiments, toured several research labs and engaged in informal question and answer sessions with faculty over lunch. For more details, look at the PhLaSH website.

Young Scientist Award

June 2000: USC Department of Physics and Astronomy is proud to be a sponsor of the PhysLink Young Scientist of the Year 2000 award. Jennifer A. Seiler, a high school senior from Virginia, is this years winner for her project on The Acoustic Thermometry of Sea Water. More information on Jennifer's project and the award can be found at PhysLink's Young Scientist Award site.

Staff Recognition

June 2000: Congratulations to Bill Talbert for his selection as "Staff Member of the Month" by USC Staff Assembly/Staff Club. Bill is currently the Equipment Manager for the Undergraduate Labs and has worked in the Physics Department for 17 years. Congratulations Bill!

Professorial Promotion

May 2000: Congratulations to Vitaly Kresin who has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure. Vitaly has provided outstanding contributions to teaching and research in the department and we wish him continued success.

Mohammed 'Shak' Hossain wins first prize at Undergraduate Research Symposium

April 2000: The second annual Undergraduate Symposium for Scholarly and Creative Work sponsored by the Provost office at USC was held Wednesday, April 26, 2000. Physics/Computer Science student Mohammed 'Shak' Hossain was awarded first prize in the Physical Sciences, Mathematics and Engineering division for his work titled "Giant Moments of Fe and Co on and in thin Na films". Shak performed this research under the guidance of Prof. Gerd Bergmann and has also presented the results at recent AAPT and APS conferences. Congratulations Shak!!

Department Awarded Undergraduate Research Funding

January 2000: Led by Prof. Hans Bozler, a group of department faculty (including Profs. Warner and Kresin) were awarded funding by the Undergraduate Research Program in the Office of the Provost. This award will help to support several undergraduate students while they participate in research groups throughout the year. Look for undergraduate research results in future news listings.