WKU’s chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma physics honor society will celebrate its 50th anniversary on April 24 at its annual banquet and induction ceremony.
The celebration will begin at 6 p.m. at the Kentucky Library and Museum.
The Sigma Pi Sigma chapter was established on May 25, 1960, and has 263 members. The official honor society of the physics profession honors outstanding scholarship in physics, encourages interest in physics among students at all levels, promotes an attitude of service of its members, and provides a fellowship of persons who have excelled in physics.
Four WKU students have been invited to join the WKU chapter and will be inducted at the banquet. They are: Jacob Daniel Baxley, a junior physics major from Hartford; Kyle Wayne Cook, a senior physics and mathematics major from Bowling Green; James Robert Phelps, a senior physics major from Morgantown; and Schuyler Grace Wolff, a junior physics and mathematics major from Tulsa, Okla.
To receive this honor these students had to meet high standards of general scholarship and excellence in physics scholarship, including an overall GPA of 3.0 out of 4.0, a GPA in all their physics courses of at least 3.3 out of 4.0, and completion of a set of core physics courses.
Cook, Phelps and Wolff also will receive the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s 2010 awards for scholarship, research and service.
Phelps is the 2010 recipient of the Dr. George V. and Sadie Skiles Page Award for Excellence in Scholarship, which is awarded to the graduating physics major with the highest academic standing.
Phelps’ 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 and plans to pursue a graduate degree in computer science or other technology related fields.
Wolff is the 2010 recipient of the Dr. Randall Harper Award for Outstanding Research in Physics and Astronomy, which is awarded to the junior or senior student with research exhibiting significance, effort, originality, and creativity.
Wolff is a student in the Honors College, a member of Phi Mu Epsilon, an Ogden Dean’s List honoree, and a President’s List honoree. She has won scholarships from the Gatton Academy for Mathematics and Science and the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium. She has presented her work in supernova progenitor studies at several regional and national conferences, won Best in Session at the 40th WKU Student Research Conference and won her Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) with the University of Güttingen and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. After graduation, she plans to earn her doctorate in astrophysics and pursue a career in professional astronomy as an academic at a research institution.
Cook is the 2010 recipient of the Dr. Douglas Humphrey Award for Outstanding Service, which is awarded to the junior or senior student with a record of service within the department and to science outreach to the community.
Cook 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 served as an undergraduate laboratory technician. In addition, he has assisted with student recruitment by visiting high schools, has assisted with outreach activities such as Physics Olympics and 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 Cook will enter the graduate program at Texas A&M University to pursue a doctorate in astrophysics.
To honor the history of the WKU Chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, alumni from each of the five decades of the chapter’s existence — Dr. William G. Buckman Sr., Dr. Dwight P. Russell, Melissa Smith Rudloff, Dr. Idelfonso J. Guilaran and Dr. Gavi E. Begtrup — will speak about their experiences during and after their studies at WKU.
Additional information about the banquet, induction and awards is available online.
Contact: Doug Harper, (270) 745-6194.
WKU News Blog 
Leave a comment