2010 Departmental Award Winners

Each year the WKU Department of Physics and Astronomy gives three awards to students who have excelled in the areas of Scholarship, Research, and Service.

The oldest of these awards is the George V. Page Physics Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Physics.  This award is given to the graduating senior physics major with the highest academic standing (as measured by overall GPA).  The award was established nearly 40 years ago to honor Dr. Page who was asked in 1927 to establish a physics department at WKU by then President H.H. Cherry. Dr. Page served as head of the department until his retirement in 1960.

The next award is the Randall Harper Award for Outstanding Research in Physics.  This award is given to the junior or senior physics student who submits a research essay that is judged to show the most significance, effort, originality, and creativity.  The award was established ten years ago to honor the memory of Dr. Randall Harper who was an alumnus and former faculty member of the WKU Physics and Astronomy Department.  Dr. Harper graduated from WKU in 1982 and returned to the WKU faculty in 1989 after completing his Ph.D. from North Carolina State University.  Unfortunately his life was cut short by cancer.  This year we had two outstanding applications for the research award from Michael Simpson and Schuyler Wolff.  We hope to encourage more students to apply for this prestigious honor in upcoming years.  Look for us to post the winning essays of each of the recipients’s of this award for the past ten years soon on the departmental website.

The final award is the Doug Humphrey Award for Outstanding Service in Physics. This award is granted to the student with the best record of service within the department and to science outreach to the community.  There are many avenues in which students can give of their time and talents to help promote the mission of the department.  These include activities such as the Western Kentucky Physics Olympics, the Kentucky Science Olympiad, Women in Science Days, and service in the Society of Physics Students and/or the Hilltopper Astronomy Club to name only a few.  There are certainly a number of students who deserve recognition in this area but this years winner sets a very high standard.  The Humphrey Service Award was established five years ago to recognize the contributions of former faculty member Dr. Doug Humphrey.  Professor Emeritus Humphrey served on the faculty for over 35 years and during this time he taught nearly every different course offering in our catalog.  He served as the adviser for the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma during many of his years on our faculty.

This years winners are announced below. Their names will soon be added to the plaques in the hallway outside the departmental office.  They will be recognized in front of members of our department at our annual Sigma Pi Sigma Banquet and Induction Ceremony on April 24, 2010 (6:00 PM at the Kentucky Library and Museum).  They will also be recognized at a college wide ceremony set for April 25, 2010 at the Carroll Knicely Center on the WKU South Campus.

Please be sure to congratulate this year’s winners.

James Robert Phelps

Robbie Phelps is a senior physics major on pace to graduate from WKU in the summer of 2010.  He is a new inductee into the national physics honor society Sigma Pi Sigma.  His association with the Cyber Defense Laboratory at WKU led to an opportunity to develop software for the Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi, MD.  He currently works for Electronic Warfare Associates specializing in network security.  He plans to pursue a graduate degree in Computer Science or other technology related fields.

Dr. Randall Harper Award for Outstanding Research in Physics and Astronomy*
Awarded to the junior or senior student with research exhibiting significance, effort, originality, and creativity.

Schuyler Grace Wolff

Schuyler Wolff has many accolades, including being a student in the Honors College, a member of Phi Mu Epsilon and Sigma Pi Sigma, an Ogden Dean’s List honoree, and a President’s List honoree. She has won scholarships from the Gatton Academy for Math and Science, and from the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium. She has presented her work in supernova progenitor studies at several regional and national conferences, and has won Best in Session at the 40th WKU Student Research Conference. Her hard work has won her REUs with the University of Güttingen, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In her spare time, she serves as the Communications Officer for the Hilltopper Astronomy Club, and President Elect for the Society of Physics Students. After graduation, she plans to earn her doctorate in astrophysics, and pursue a career in professional astronomy, as an academic at a research institution.

Dr. Douglas Humphrey Award for Outstanding Service*
Awarded to the junior or senior student with a record of service within the department and to science outreach to the community.

Kyle Wayne Cook

Kyle Cook is a senior Physics and Mathematics major and a member of the national physics honor society Sigma Pi Sigma.   He receives the Humphrey service award for an unprecedented third year in a row because of the overall good citizenship that he portrays in his interactions with faculty and students in the department.  He has been instrumental in revitalizing the Hilltopper Astronomy Club and has been extremely helpful to faculty in his service as an undergraduate laboratory technician.  In addition, he has assisted with student recruitment by visiting high schools, and has assisted with outreach activities such as Physics Olympics. He also presently works as an undergraduate student researcher with Professor Mike Carini on a Blazar monitoring project for which he has gained national recognition by receiving the Chambliss Student Astronomy Achievement Award from the American Astronomical Society.  This summer Kyle will enter the graduate program at Texas A&M University to pursue a Ph.D. in Astrophysics.