PHYSICSGRADSNAMED
DISTINGUISHEDALUMNINow everyone knows what weknew all along. We have somepretty special graduates. Thisyear, two have been singled outfor recognition as SWOSU Dis-tinguished Alumni. JohnAaron (‘64) and Dr. Benny Hill(‘57) will be honored for theirmany accomplishments at theSWOSU Convocation on May13, 2006. Keep your eye onSWOSU’s News and on thePhysics Alumni Web Page forrelated activities. More infor-mation about these high achiev-ers is presented later in thenewsletter.
ALWAYS GREATFOOD! ThePhysics andEngineering ClubAnnual Shish-kebabwill be held onSaturday, 6 May2006 at 6:00 p.m. The locationwill be Dr. Jones’ house.
To get to the Jones Estate, takeexit 84 (Airport Rd) from I-40and go south on Airport Road
one full mile to the four-waystop. Turn left (east) and goabout ½ mile to Cedar CanyonE. (Pass up Cedar Canyon W.) Turn south (right) and driveabout 0.4 miles. The sign“JONES 20" will be on the east(left) side of the road. Turndown the driveway. (The houseis not visible from the road.) ALUMNI ARE WELCOME!!!
Science is a way of trying notto fool yourself .– Richard
Feynman
MELISSA
GARD WILL
SPEAK AT BANQUETTake a trip to the International
Space Station. For $20 mil-
lion, you might hitch a ride on
a Russian rocket. Or for the
much more reasonable rate of
$12, you can get a fine meal,
the company of friends old and
new, and an evening learning
about the ISS at the 25 An-th
nual Spring Physics Banquet.
This year’s gathering will be on
Saturday, April 1, at 7 p.m. in
the SWOSU Conference Cen-
ter (at the corner of Davis Rd.
and 7 St. across the streetth
from Milam Stadium).
Alumna Melissa (Missy
Dubiel) Gard (‘89) will be
speaking on “The International
Space Station: What does it do,
what have we learned, what's
next?”
After receiving a B.S. in Engi-
neering Physics from SWOSU,
Ms. Gard started her career at
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight
Center where she performed
design, computational analysis
and testing on the International
Space Station’s (ISS) environ-
mental control, life support,
thermal and fire protection sys-
tems. In 1998 she was tempor-
arily assigned to NASA Head-
quarters in Washington, D.C.
where she worked on Congres-
sional materials related to ISS.
Melissa then transferred to
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
where she served as Technical
Assistant to the Deputy Pro-
gram Manager for ISS Opera-
tions. Following that assign-
ment she was the Mission Man-
ager for the third and sixth ex-
peditions to the ISS. She is
currently a Senior Manager in
the ISS Mission Evaluation
Room, leading the engineering
team that monitors ISS system
operations and performs anom-
aly resolution. Her awards in-
clude the Silver Snoopy award -
Department of Chemistry & Physics g 100 Campus Drive g Weatherford, OK 73096-3089
PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTERSpring 2006
http://www.swosu.edu/academics/physics g [email protected] g Terry Goforth, Editor
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 2 SPRING 2006
the astronauts’ personal award
for ensuring crew and mission
safety - and the NASA Excep-
tional Service Medal.
In addition to food for both
body and mind, the evening
will include the annual induc-
tion of new Sigma Pi Sigma
members and presentation of
awards and scholarships.
Mark your calendars and make
your reservations now. Just let
us know your plans–you can
always pay at the door. We
just need a head count for the
caterers about 3 days in ad-
vance. Hope to see you there!
PHYSICS AND
ENGINEERING CLUB
OFFICERSPres: Moin Khan
VP: Santosh BhattSec: Bhaskar BasnetTreas: Micah Perkins
Publ Rel: Michelle SchuldtHistorian: Vishnu Pokhrel
Spn: Dr. Tony Stein
CONGRATULATIONS,GRADS!This year twoSWOSU Physicsstudents receivedtheir diplomas at
convocation. Chris Robertson(Meeker) received his degree inBiophysics and is off to the OSU
College of Health Sciences towork on his post-graduate degreein Osteopathic Medicine. CaseyWells (Ninnekah) has chosen topursue an advanced degree inMedical Physics. To furtherprepare for his studies, Casey hasbegun his graduate career bypicking up additional courses inbiology and chemistry here atSWOSU. Casey also continuesto serve the SWOSU studentbody and physics program byusing his considerablebackground tutoring students inbeginning physics courses. Congratulations Chris and Casey!
Make everything as simple aspossible, but not simpler. –Albert Einstein
THECOLLAPSEOF THE TACOMANARROWS BRIDGEDr. Charles Rogers
The Tacoma Narrows bridgewas opened to the public onJuly 1, 1940. At 1.8 km long,it was the third longest sus-pension bridge in the world atthat time. As originally de-signed by Clark Eldridge, itwould have cost 11 milliondollars to build, but easternfinanciers would not lend themoney to build it unless anengineer of their choice revi-sed the plans. They choseLeon Moisseiff, a world fa-mous bridge designer.
A bridge is too complex tocalculate all of the forces in-volved, and so engineers con-struct a mathematical modelrelating the forces that theythink will be important. Meas-urements of real bridges, or ofphysical models, verify that amathematical model is goodand yields the values of con-stants in the equations of themodel. Unfortunately Mois-seiff extended his model farbeyond where it had beentested. His design called for avisually stunning bridge, anarrow and thin ribbon ofroadway gracefully suspen-ded from two soaring towers. Moisseiff’s plan would useless steel and cost only 8million dollars, so his versionis the bridge that wasbuilt–and besides, Moisseiffwas famous.
The bridge’s extreme flexibilityallowed it to oscillate in thewind and led to its nickname,“Galloping Gertie.” At timesthe roadbed became a sinu-ous sine wave with ampli-tudes so large that a car in avalley would disappear fromthe view of a car in a valleybehind it. About 10:00 a.m.on November 7, 1940, Leo-nard Coatsworth, a newseditor for the Tacoma NewsTribune, drove onto the bridgewith the family dog, Tubby, inthe back seat. The roadwaywas rising and falling 3 feetevery 90 seconds. Suddenlya stiffening line broke looseand the bridge began to twist
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 3 SPRING 2006
about its center line, pushingthe left sidewalk 28 feet be-low the right sidewalk. Thenthe left sidewalk rose and theright sidewalk fell, and so on,every 5 seconds. Coats-worth’s car was thrown a-gainst the curb in the oppo-site lane, but Coatsworthmanaged to crawl out a win-dow. The terrified dog wouldnot come.
Not able to stay on his feet,Coatsworth clung to the curbas he crawled towards theEast Tower 150 meters a-way. As he neared the tow-er, he met Winfield Brown, acollege student, who had ear-lier walked across the bridgefor the thrill of the roller coas-ter effect for the price of thedime toll. They both made itto safety. At 10:30 a.m. alarge chunk of concrete drop-ped from the central span. Ashort while later the rumble ofGalloping Gertie reached acrescendo: the air was filledwith the shrieking of twistingsteel girders, the sharp gun-shot sounds of snapping ca-bles and popping bolts, andthe grinding of concrete a-gainst concrete. One of thetwo suspension cables slip-ped from its saddle atop atower, and, at 11:02 a.m., a200-meter-long section of theroadway tore loose from thecentral span and dropped 65meters into Puget Sound. Other segments fell and sodid Coatsworth’s car withTubby still inside.
At first it was supposed thatthe bridge’s collapse wascaused by the wind exciting anatural frequency of thebridge–a resonance pheno-menon. Under this guisepictures of the bridge collapsehave made it into numerousphysics text books. The exci-tation mechanism wasthought to be the formationand shedding of vortices inthe lee of the bridge, but theexpected period for this was 1second, not the measured 5seconds.
Frederick Bert Farquharson,Professor of Civil Engineeringat the University of Washing-ton, took measurements andfilmed the collapse. He wasonsite because he had beenassigned to find ways to makethe bridge stiffer. (He alsomanaged to reachCoatsworth’s car to rescueTubby, but when he reachedinside, Tubby bit his fingerand drove him off.) Later Far-quharson made a scale modelof the bridge and discoveredthat straight winds couldexcite a torsional mode with a5 second period–exactly whathad destroyed the bridge. The oscillation frequency wasindependent of any aspect ofthe wind, provided that thewind speed was large e-nough. Once started, thebridge’s own structure magni-fied the motion until the bridgefailed. It had previously beenassumed that bridges neededto withstand only the pushing
force of winds, but Farquhar-son showed that the complexinterplay between the struc-ture and the wind must be ac-counted for. The field ofbridge aerodynamics wasborn, providing gainful em-ployment for engineers andsafer bridges for the public.
In quest ions of science, theauthority of a thousand is notw orth the humble reasoning ofa single individual.–GalileoGalilei
NEWS FROM
CLUB WE-BE-
GONE
Travels of the
Physics and Engineering Club
The past year has been as
eventful as ever. Our spring
trip took us to Colorado
Springs in the great state of
Colorado for the Space Sym-
posium’s job fair. It was an eye-
opening experience for all of us,
particularly our Senior (and
some Juniors) who waited in line
for the interviews. It was parti-
cularly gratifying to see employ-
er after employer emphasizing
the importance of on-going
education. (Students do not
always truly believe professors
when we say that an engineering
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 4 SPRING 2006
physics degree doesn’t end
their education but begins it.
When employers and workers
in the field speak students
listen. ) The only disappoint-
ment at the fair was the lack of
opportunities for international
students.
The displays and exhibits at
the Symposium were specta-
cular, as well. They almost
competed with the view from
the surrounding mountains.
Most people were able to fully
enjoy the breathtaking view of
one of the prettiest parts of
our country, but getting down
from some of these places was
a particularly memorable ‘eyes
shut’ experience for some of
us...okay, for one of us (Dr.
Stein). There is nothing quite
like coasting down a steep
mountain having switch back
after switch back while smelling
the pungent aroma of hot
brakes!
Currently we are planning our
next spring trip and getting
ready for this year’s spring
banquet. In addition, we are
actively seeking speakers to
come to SWOSU to present
colloquia that give our students
a better understanding of what
the world is like after they gra-
duate. (See our ad in this
paper.)
...AND CLOSER
TO HOMEThe beginning ofspring finalsheralds the annual Physicsand Engineering Shish-kebab. Dr. Jones graciously hostedthe 2005 edition which fea-tured beef and chicken ke-bobs and all the sides anddesserts you could ever hopefor. The usual round of“questionable” awards werepresented, and a fond fare-well was wished to our gradu-ating seniors, ChrisRobertson and Casey Wells.
Fall brought a number of newand vibrant students to theClub. At our welcome backbarbecue in September wesaw a number of new facesand as well as some older fa-miliar ones. The food wasgreat—once it was cooked! (Special thanks goes to Dr.Robertson for tutoring abarbecue rookie. (Lesson #1:never be parsimonious withcharcoal.)
Following recent tradition,
we celebrated Halloweenwith a spooky movie andplenty of snacks. Of course,the Christmas party providedus with a brief respite fromfinal exams. Students, facul-ty (current and retired), andfamilies gathered at thehome of Drs. Goforth andTrail for a wonderful pot-luckspread and a rousting gameof Dirty Santa.
HOLES IN THEHOLY HOLESby Dr. StanRobertson
In a series of five research paperspublished over the last four yearsand a chapter of a book (New Di-rections in Black Hole Re-search, ed. P.V.Kreitler, NovaScience Publishers, Inc., 2006,ISBN 1-59454-460-3,novapublishers.com) Dr. StanleyRobertson, erstwhile SWOSUphysics prof, and co-author Dr.Darryl Leiter have proposed anon-black-hole relativistic modelof compact gravitating objects.Unlike black holes, their compactobject model is allowed to have amagnetic field. They call theirobject a MECO (for MagneticEternally Collapsing Object) andit has been previously describedin the Alumni Newsletter.Though compact as a black hole,it never collapses into a blackhole because it radiates away itsmass fast enough to defeat theformation of an event horizon.
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 5 SPRING 2006
As a result of the extreme relati-vistic time dilation, this processcould continue for trillions ofyears. For earthbound observers,a MECO would be essentiallystable and very dim, hardly dis-tinguishable from black holesexcept for their magnetic fields.Robertson and Leiter have usedthe MECO model to explain de-tails of the x-ray spectra and rap-id variability of both neutronstars and stellar mass black holecandidates. In a 2004 paper pub-lished in Monthly Notices of theRoyal Astronomical Society(MNRAS, England), they show-ed how these spinning magneticobjects could drive astrophysicaljets. These ubiquitous jets havebeen observed for young proto-stars, white dwarfs, neutron starsand supermassive galactic nu-clei. Magnetic objects, such asthe MECO can produce them allwith infalling, accreting matterand a spinning magnetic field.Typically, the infalling matterforms an accretion disk thatinteracts with the central mag-netic field at the inner edge ofthe disk. As magnetic field linesentangle in the disk, they arewound toroidally and stretcheduntil there is enough energystored in a toroid to drive itsejection. Ejection occurs whenthe axial magnetic field recon-nects across the disk. Mass ejec-tions in puffs, somewhat similarto smoke rings blown out, havenow been observed in severalastronomical jet sources. (Forsupercomputer simulations andmovies (!) of this process for
protostars, seehttp://astrosun2.astro.cornell.edu/us-rus/disk_prop.htm ) Asshown in the simulations for jet-emitting states, the magnetic fieldof a MECO sweeps the interiorof the accretion disk clean, leav-ing a central hole in the disk, andcreates a thin hot inner ringwhere the disk and magnetic fieldinteract. Additionally, the mag-netic field drives disk winds backout over the disk. These can pileup into sizeable “outflow struc-tures” where they impinge onother gas and dust in the less wellcollimated outer zones of accre-tion. None of these features arepredicted by current black holemodels. They are magnetic signa-tures. Though originally designedfor application to stellar massblack hole candidates, Robertsonand Leiter showed in theMNRAS paper, that the MECOmodel could be properly scaledup for application to galacticnuclei.
In a paper recently accepted forpublication in the AstronomicalJournal*, Robertson and Leiterhave joined forces with Dr. Ru-dolph Schild of the Center forAstrophysics (CFA), HarvardUniversity to apply the MECOmodel to the explanation of fea-tures of a quasar, Q0957+561.Q0957+561 is a compact object,three to four billion times themass of our sun. Such objects areroutinely called supermassiveblack holes, although no signa-ture properties of a black holehave ever been observed for any
of them. Before the MECO mod-el, there were simply no knowncredible alternatives. Stellar massgalactic black hole candidatesprimarily produce x-rays and aremuch too small to be resolved byour satellite x-ray telescopes, butQ0957+561 provides a way toobserve the magnetic signatures.It produces multiple images thatare a result of relativistic gravita-tional lensing by an interveninggalaxy along the direction ofsight. A good example of similarmultiply lensed images can beseen for quasar Q2237+0305(Einstein’s Cross) at http://www.astrouw.edu.pl/~ogle/ogle3/huchra.html . ForQ2237 there are essentially notime delays between arrivals ofthe four images and the bright-ness variations are identified asintrinsic quasar brightness fluctu-ations. But there are significantbrightness variations shown at2950, 3300 and 3700 days sinceJulian Date 2450000.Q0957+561 shows comparablebehavior that almost certainlybetrays the existence of complexinternal structure. In addition,there is rich detail on shorter timescales that arises from microlen-sing by planetary size objects inthe host galaxy of Q0957+561.Autocorrelation and cross-correl-ations between the multiple im-ages and Fourier analyses ofthese variations of luminositiespermits a reconstruction of themajor geometric features of thesource. The image reconstructionprocess is somewhat similar tothe tomography used in medical
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 6 SPRING 2006
diagnostic imaging. The mul-tiple images produced by thegravitational lens are essentiallyviews of the quasar from oppo-site sides of the intervening len-sing galaxy. This provides a bin-ocular baseline sufficient for re-solving the quasar structure. Thesizes of quasar source featuresare commensurate with the timeit takes light to travel acrossthem. For example, if a bright-ness variation occurs in one day,the emitting feature responsibleis about one light day in size.
Q0957+561 has been extensive-ly studied for many years, withsignificant findings previouslypublished by Schild (1991), Peltet. Al. (1996) Thompson &Schild (1997), Pijpers (1997),Elvis (2000) Oscoz et. al.(2002), Colley and Schild(2003), Schild & Vakulik(2003), and Schild (2005). The“outflow structure” has becomeknown as the Elvis ring and thecomplex of Elvis ring and a hotinterior ring, ten times smaller,but still out at 35 times theSchwarzschild radius and withan empty interior is now calledthe Schild-Vakulik structure. Inaddition a small jet centered a-bove the central object is presentin the reconstructed image. Furi-ous theoretical efforts to explainhow a black hole could producethese magnetic features are pre-sently underway in many of themost prestigious research insti-tutes of the world (especiallyincluding CFA!). Additional ur-gency is added by recent find-
ings that empty inner accretiondisks are implied by the bestspectroscopic models for jetproducing stellar mass black holecandidates. This contradicts themost widely accepted black holemodel in which a black holespinning at maximum allowedrate uses frame dragging veryclose to the event horizon to ejectmaterial from a luminous accre-tion disk that reaches essentiallyall the way to the event horizon.For black holes, a new explana-tion is clearly needed. My per-sonal favorite new black holemodel, due to its delightful acro-nym, MAD, (for magneticallyarrested disk) assumes that thedisk somehow (tooth fairies?)generates a magnetic ring thatdrives the jet. But it mistakenlypredicts that a steady flow ofluminous matter continues insidethe magnetic ring. The reason forthis is that disk generated fieldsare necessarily limited to havelower energy density than thekinetic energy density of the diskmaterial orbital motions; other-wise the magnetic field and dif-ferential rotation would preventthe formation of a disk. Thisleaves too little energy availableto eject all of the inflowing diskmaterial. The intrinsic centralmagnetic field of the MECOmodel circumvents these pro-blems. The bottom line is that wehave been able to look closely ata quasar and what we see lookslike a MECO. This is a good be-ginning of the end of the blackhole paradigm.
*”Observations Supporting theExistence of an IntrinsicMagnetic Moment Inside theCentral Compact Object Withinthe Quasar Q0957+561", byRudolph E. Schild, HarvardCFA, Darryl J. Leiter, MARC,Charlottesville, VA and StanleyL. Robertson, SWOSU
SPEAKERSWANTEDDo you have astory to tell? Wehave an audience
for you. Share your hardearned experience and well-seasoned advice with past,present, and future SWOSUgraduates. Our studentsbenefit greatly from yourinvolvement. If interestedplease contact Dr. Stein orDr. Goforth.
Facts are stubborn things; andw hatever may be our w ishes,our inclinations, or the dictatesof our passions, they cannotalter the state of facts andevidence.–John Adams
A NIGHT OF
HONORSThe SWOSU Ballroom
was the place and
April 9, 2005, was the
date of the 24th
Annual Physics Spring
Banquet. Old friends and new
gathered to share delectable
delights and an evening honor-
ing past accomplishments and
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 7 SPRING 2006
setting the stage for future
ones. Six new members were
inducted into the SWOSU
Chapter of Sigma Pi Sigma, the
honor society of the Society of
Physics Students. Signing the
book and receiving their pins
were Santosh Bhatt, (Jr,
Nepal), Moin Khan (Sr,
Pakistan), Vishnu Pokhrel (So,
Nepal), Chris Robertson (Sr,
Meeker), Ashis Shrestha (So,
Nepal), and Dr. Wayne Trail
(Faculty, Weatherford). This
year’s J.R. Pratt Award for the
Outstanding Student in Physics
went to Casey Wells (Sr,
Ninnekah), and the Outstan-
ding Midclassman in Physics
was awarded to Vishnu
Pokhrel. Michelle Schuldt (Fr,
Woodward) was selected by
her peers as the Outstanding
New Physics Club Member.
Graduating senior Chris
Robertson was presented with
his Graduating with Honors
Medallion to wear at convoca-
tion, and Casey Wells was re-
cognized for his induction into
Who’s Who.
Through the generosity of
alumni, faculty (retired and
active), and friends of the
Physics Program, over $4,000
in scholarships was awarded to
deserving and appreciative stu-
dents. Receiving the $1,000
J.R. Pratt Scholarship was
Moin Khan. The $700 Arthur
McClelland Memorial Scholar-
ship was awarded to the winner
of the Outstanding Midclass-
man in Physics recipient,
Vishnu Pokhrel. Santosh Bhatt
received a $500 Physics Alumni
Scholarship and a $250 Arts &
Sciences Dean’s Scholarship.
Four other Physics Alumni
Scholarships in the amout of
$700 each were awarded to
Bhaskar Basnet (So, Nepal),
David Chantz Drake (Sr, Elk
City), Micah Perkins (Sr, Ponca
City), and Ashis Shrestha.
The evening was capped off
with an insightful talk by retired
faculty member Dr. Stanley
Robertson, who brought us into
the cosmological debate about
the existence of event horizons
(necessary to define a black
hole) and showed some of the
current data and claims being
made. He also shared some of
his experiences as a “rebel” in
the field and the difficulties en-
countered when trying to pub-
lish “radical” ideas. Lessons
learned include a reminder that
science is based on evidence,
and that scientists must be at
once both diligently skeptical
and open-minded to
challenges.
Learning w ithout thinking isuseless. Thinking w ithoutlearning is dangerous.–KongFuzi (Confucius)
PAY ITFORWARDDo youremember trying
to make ends meet whenyou were a student? Doyou remember those whowere willing to help out?
Tuition and fees continu-ously rise faster than infla-tion. In-state tuition iscurrently $108 per credithour, and fees are tackedon top of that for certaincourses. All told, a typicalschool year costs about$3,300 in tuition and fees,plus another $3,000 for aminimal room and boardplan.
Consider making a tax-deductable donation to theSWOSU Foundation to helpsupport scholarships. Ifyou designate the money togo to one of the Physicsfunds (J.R. Pratt, ArthurMcClealland, or PhysicsUnrestricted), it will beguaranteed to go to supportphysics students and thephysics program. You don’thave to fund a full scholar-ship yourself. If yourschedule prevents you fromattending the banquet thisyear, perhaps you’d like todonate the cost of a ticket($12) to one of the funds.Every little bit helps, andthe power of many donorsworking together adds upfast! And to those of you
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 8 SPRING 2006
who have made a regularor occasional habit ofsupport, WE THANK YOU!
When did ignorance become apoint of view ? – Dilbert (ScottAdams)
JOHN W. AARON(‘64) is beinghonored this year asa SWOSU Distin-guished Alumnus. Mr. Aaron began hiscareer at NASA in the FlightOperations Directorate at theManned Mission Center(now Johnson Space Center)in Houston. He quickly ad-vanced to become Electrical,Environmental, and Commu-nications (EECOM) officer inMission Control for the Gemi-ni and Apollo Programs. Among his many contribu-tions, John devised the re-covery for the power systemson Apollo 12 after the space-craft was struck by lightningduring launch, thus avoidinga mission abort. He also de-veloped the recovery se-quence for powering up theApollo 13 Command Moduleto prepare for Earth atmos-phere reentry after the CMwas shut down to preservepower following a devas-tating explosion in the oxy-gen tank. In a 2003 HistoryChannel Documentary“Falure is Not an Option,”based on a book of the same
title by Eugene Krantz, onecontroller said “If you evertook a poll on who was themost capable flight controllerthat ever sat in Mission Con-trol, I believe that most wouldsay John Aaron.”
John lead the team of engi-neers that developed theflight software for the SpaceShuttle Orbiter’s onboardavionics system and even-tually became Chief of theSpacecraft Software Division. He also directed the earliestphase of the InternationalSpace Station (ISS) Programand was appointed to leadefforts to streamline andmanage JSC’s engineeringsupport of the Space Shuttleand ISS Programs. John’sleadership lead to better inte-gration of the various NASAinitiatives (technology, scien-tific, robotic, space transpor-tation, and human flight)which provided the founda-tion for the Human Explora-tion and Development ofSpace (HEDS) initiative. Hisefforts have significantly re-duced redundancy betweenagencies and contracts. Hehas served as TechnicalAssistant to the Director ofthe JSC, Manager of theSpace Station Projects, andManager of JSC EngineeringDirectorate, Systems Engin-eering Office.
John retired from NASA in
2000, but he continues to dopart-time consulting work. He and his wife Cheryl nowlive in Marble Falls, TX.
BENNY J. HILL(‘57) has been
named SWOSU
Distinguished
Alumnus this year. Dr. Hill re-
ceived his degree in physics
from Southwestern State Col-
lege under the instruction of
the legendary J.R. Pratt. Benny
then worked as a research
assistant at Los Alamos Scienti-
fic Laboratory for two years be-
fore returning to SWSC as a
physics instructor for one year.
He then returned to Los Alamos
as a staff member performing
computational modeling of
various nuclear physics and
other processes while taking
graduate courses in physics
and mathematics from the
University of New Mexico. In
1964, he returned as an Assis-
tant Professor of Physics at
SWSC and assumed the posi-
tion of Chair of Physics which
he held until 1990 with only a
two-year leave from 1966-68
during which he worked on his
Ph.D. in the Theory Group at
Texas A&M University. Dr. Hill’s
long and tireless service built
the Physics Department at
SWSC (later SWOSU) into a
nationally-known program
which graduated 350 students
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 9 SPRING 2006
during his tenure including 40
who went on to complete ad-
vanced degrees in physics, en-
gineering, medicine, optomet-
ry, architecture, mathematics,
and computer science. Majors
in Biophysics and Engineering
Physics were added under his
leadership, as was the induc-
tion of a charter chapter of the
Society of Physics Students
(locally called the Physics Club
and later the Physics and Engi-
neering Club) which has been
routinely recognized as one of
the Nationally Outstanding
Chapters of SPS. He taught
most of the courses offered in
physics as well as courses in
FORTRAN and Scientific Pro-
gramming for many years.
Many of us know of his active
participation in placing gradu-
ates in jobs or graduate
schools, and maintaining rela-
tionships with alumni to build a
very strong SWOSU Physics
Alumni Association that en-
sured placement of future gra-
duates. Dr. Hill’s contributions
to science education in Okla-
homa went far beyond the
SWOSU classroom. He presen-
ted computer science lectures
for the NSF-sponsored Science
Camps at SWOSU. He gave
lectures and demonstrations at
area schools and for public
audiences and encouraged his
faculty to do so as well. He
also served as a judge for the
Oklahoma Junior Academy of
Science in Stillwater and at
local, region, state, and even
international Science Fairs held
in Oklahoma.
In 1985, Dr. Hill began part-
time corporate defense work for
BDM Corporation. Following his
retirement from SWOSU in
1990, this became a full-time
position where he managed
numerous invention, design,
manufacturing, testing, and
evaluation programs critical to
U.S. defense and security, inclu-
ding work on tags and tamper-
indicating devices for security in
international arms control
treaty verification, effects of
high humidity on the perfor-
mance of infrared imagers used
by U.S. Border Patrol, assess-
ment of counter-missile sys-
tems on U.S. military aircraft
and of foreign missile systems,
systems for detection of buried
land mines, and evaluation and
modeling of a variety of systms
to detect materials which could
be used by terrorists to develop
“dirty bombs.”
Dr. Hill retired for a second time
in 2003. He now resides in
Santa Fe, NM, where he is pur-
suing his interests in history,
Indian and Spanish cultures,
painting, writing, photography,
and as a critic of restaurants in
New Mexico.
The whole problem w ith thew orld is that fools and fanaticsare alw ays so certain ofthemselves, and w iser peopleso full of doubts. –BertrandRussell
A FRESHLOOKOnce again, thefirst floor of theChemistry-
Physics-Pharmacy (CPP)building is undergoing amajor facelift. Last summerwe moved out of the northwing so the architects,carpenters, electricians, andplumbers could move in. Classrooms and labs will beequipped with modernnetwork-ready audio-visualcapabilities and additionalelectrical outlets to ac-comodate an increasing num-ber of notebook computers,and a new student computerlab will be added. Plans alsoinclude updating the HVACsystems for greater efficiency. We hope to move back intothe wing in time for the startof fall classes. Drop by andcheck it out!
ALUMNINOTES
Richard Vaughn(‘99) received hisMBA from the University ofOklahoma in May, 2005. Congratulations, Richard!
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 10 SPRING 2006
James Bates (‘62) retired fromNASA in December, 2004, aftermany years of service. Jimoversaw many fascinating pro-jects during his tenure at NASAand shared some of them with usas banquet speaker. He hastaken up his second career as apiano tuner and as a full-timegrandfather. Best wishes, Jim.
Joe Beisel (‘97) is completinghis PhD in Mechanical Engi-neering at Oklahoma StateUniversity and is scheduled todefend and graduate thissummer. He’s in job huntingmode now, and has had a fewinterviews. Can we get him afew more...?
Dr. Edwin Green passed awayMay 3, 2004 at the age of 82. Dr. Green was professor ofgeology and geophysics atSWOSU from 1975 to 1986. Heis greatly missed.
Ron Wollmann (‘73) is puttinghis chemistry to work as theowner/operator of Panther HillsWinery, located on his homeoutside of Bessie, OK (justsouth of Clinton). Ron producesa variety of naturally-fermentedwines. Check out his web pageat www.pantherhills.com fordetails including directions,available wines, and tastingroom hours.
Loyal Barber (‘82) is co-ownerof a software consulting com-pany, BLT Soft Incorporated(www.bltsoft.com). This father-
son company specializes in theinstallation and modification ofRetek, a software package usedin retail merchandising to controlitems, pricing, purchasing, etc.,for the home office.
Eric Brown (‘95) is now Direc-tor of Engineering Technologyfor Silicon Valley Expert Wit-ness Group. SVEWG specializesin providing highly qualifiedscientific and technical experts inintellectual property and otherlitigation matters to law firmsnationwide. Eric says the job isinteresting and allows him tobring his background in science,engineering, and business togeth-er in a challenging and fun way.
Terry Cox (‘86) is employedwith Seimens TransportationSystems. Terry visited SWOSUand gave an informative talkabout his career in system opera-tions to the students in April2004. He opened some eyes tothe possibilities of careers thatdon’t have the word “physics” inthe job description. Thanks,Terry!
Lee McClune (‘69) dropped byon December 19, 2005. He wasin the area to talk to economicdevelopers about his Sorganolendeavors.
Adam Fisher (Faculty ‘96-‘98)is now in the Minneapolis areaworking with BAE doing soft-ware architecture for the Army'sFCS program.
Ross Giblet (‘04) is a “Frac,” orTechnical Professional in Pro-duction Enhancement, for Halli-burton. For those of us unfamili-ar with Petroleum Engineering,thousands of gallons of gel arepumped into the ground at highenough pressures (up to 20,000psi) to put a huge fracture in theground where the hydrocarbonsare. Then a mixture of sand andgel is pumped in to keep the frac-ture open. Ross’ job is to makesure that the fluid system behavesproperly by monitoring pressures,rates, and leakoff. After com-pleting six months of intensivetraining at the Tecnical Excel-lence Center in Alice, TX, he’sback in western Oklahoma andon the job.
Mike Alsobrook (‘86) works forthe Department of the Navy atthe Patuxent River Naval AirStation where he is programmanager for installation of thethe Tomahawk Weapon Systemon Trident submarines which arebeing converted to carry Toma-hawks instead of ICBMs.
Lucas Weber (‘04) visited thedepartment last spring, freshfrom the Navy Nuclear School. We later welcomed Lucas on arecruiting visit to educate sciencemajors on career opportunitieswith the U.S. Navy.
A w it ty saying provesnothing.– Voltaire
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 11 SPRING 2006
LET US KNOW WHAT YOU’RE UP TO!It’s our great pleasure to prepare this newsletter and to share with you what we and other alumni aredoing. Your friends from good ol’ SWOSU would love to hear about YOU. Keep us up-to-date, andwe’ll pass it on. Of course, we especially need to keep up with your addresses (email for quick contactand snail mail just to send you the newsletter). Be sure to let us know when things change so we don’tlose touch.
WE’RE EASY TO FIND
You can send mail to us at 100 Campus Drive, Weatherford, OK 73096-3098, or e-mail us or call us at
Dr. Terry Goforth (580) 774-3109 [email protected]
Dr. Charles Rogers (580) 774-3108 [email protected]
Dr. Tony Stein (580) 774-3107 [email protected]
Dr. Wayne Trail (580) 774-3124 [email protected]
Mary Lou Scouten (Secretary,Department of Chemistry & Physics
(580) 774-3266 [email protected]
or just send your e-mail to [email protected]. We’ll see that it gets to the right person.
AND DON’T FORGET WE’RE ON THE WEB
You can find us at www.swosu.edu/academics/physics. Click on the Alumni link for the newsletter(past and present) and other news.
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 12 SPRING 2006
ALUMNI EMAIL ADDRESSES*
*If you are a SWOSU Alumnus, drop us an e-mail at [email protected] and we’ll send you the completelist of alumni e-mail addresses that we have on file.
SWOSU PHYSICS ALUMNI NEWSLETTER , page 13 SPRING 2006
PHYSICS ALUMNI BANQUET 2006
Saturday, April 1, 2006 7:00 p.m. SWOSU Conference Center $12/person
Name No. Persons Attending
Address Phone
Please return to: Dr. Tony Stein h 100 Campus Drive h Weatherford, OK 73096
SHISH KEBAB 2006
Saturday, May 6, 2006 6:00 p.m. Dr. Jones’ home $5/person
Name No. Persons Attending
Address Phone
Please return to: Dr. Tony Stein h 100 Campus Drive h Weatherford, OK 73096
Or... just give us a call or e-mail us to confirm for either/both event(s).
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