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Giving Opportunities

Giving to the Physics Department

Thank you for your interest in supporting the Department of Physics and Astronomy. You can “help where it’s needed most” by giving to the Physics Enrichment Fund, which funds a range of priorities. You can also contribute to any of the funds listed below.

Give Now to the Physics Enrichment Fund

Undergraduate Scholarships

William Bugg Physics Faculty Scholarship

This faculty established this scholarship to honor the service of long-time Department Head Bill Bugg to support undergraduates.

G. Samuel and Betty P. Hurst Scholarship

Sam Hurst was a Ford Foundation Professor at UT as well as a physics graduate. He had a prestigious career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Scientist and is credited with inventing touch-screen technology. Sam and his wife Betty established this scholarship to assist students in achieving their educational goals.

Joan Greene Patterson Scholarship

Physics Alumnus David O. Patterson had a successful career at DARPA, where technologies developed in his advanced lithography program are now being used to produce leading edge computer chips. He and his wife Joan established the Joan Greene Patterson Endowed Scholarship to support physics majors.

Dorothy and Rufus Ritchie Scholarship

Like his friend and colleague Sam Hurst, Physic Alumnus Rufus Ritchie had a long and storied career at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, including ground-breaking work on the surface plasmon. He and his wife Dorothy created this scholarship to support undergraduate physics majors.

James McConnell Scholarship

Via the McConnell Endowment.

Robert and Sue Talley Scholarship

Robert and Sue Talley were UT alumni, with Robert earning master’s and doctoral degrees under the supervision of Professor Alvin Nielsen. They established the Talley Endowment to encourage undergraduate physics education.

Isabel Tipton Scholarship

Isabel Tipton was a longtime professor in the department as well as the coach of UT’s storied College Bowl team. She was renowned for both her teaching and research abilities. Her daughter, Jennifer Tipton, established this scholarship in her name at the University of Tennessee to help support students in the physics department, primarily women

Glenn R. and Elise I. Young Scholarship

Physics Alumnus Glenn Young (former head of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Physics Division) and his wife Elise established this endowment to support students studying physics, especially to help cover the costs of textbooks.

Physics General Scholarship

This scholarship is awarded to students who have demonstrated successful academic performance and who are currently enrolled or have been admitted to UT and are majoring in physics.

Undergraduate Awards

Douglas V. Roseberry Distinguished Upper Classman Major Award

This fund supports the Douglas V. Roseberry Award, which recognizes an upper-level student who exemplifies the attributes of Douglas Roseberry, an undergraduate physics major at UT in the late 1950s known for his academic and research acumen as well as his enthusiasm for departmental and campus activities.

Robert Talley Undergraduate Awards

These honors established by the Robert Talley Endowment recognize students for outstanding undergraduate research and outstanding undergraduate leadership.

Graduate Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

Alvin Herborg Nielsen Graduate Scholarship

Named for longtime department head and dean Alvin H. Nielsen, this scholarship provides financial support for graduate students majoring in physics.

Paul Stelson Fellowship Fund

These fellowships are the legacy of Dr. Paul Stelson, who had a long and distinguished career in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Physics Division and was also an adjunct professor of physics at UT. In addition to fellowship awards for recruiting new students, the fund also supports two fellowships at Honors Day each year: one for outstanding beginning research and the second for professional promise.

Fowler-Marion Physics Fund

Established by Joseph Fowler and Jerry Marion, this fund supports an award acknowledging a graduate student who has excelled in scholarship, research, and departmental citizenship.

Other Departmental Funds

Robert Birkhoff Endowment

Robert Birkhoff was a UT Physics Professor and an Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientist. He set up the Birkhoff Endowment to provide scholarships and fellowships to physics students in the department. Stipends allocated from this fund may be used for housing, books, travel, research, and other expenses related to students’ educational experience including tuition.

Bill and Marian Bugg Physics Fund

Established by Professor Emeritus and Former Department Head Bill Bugg and his wife Marian, this endowment will provide broad support for department priorities at the department head’s discretion, including teaching awards for faculty, technology purchases, visting lecturers, scholarships, fellowships, and other purposes related to the department’s mission.

Wayne Kincaid Award

This award honors a student who shares Wayne Kincaid’s love for astronomy and astrophysics education and who has made exceptional contributions to educational technology, astronomy education, or scientific writing. While preference is given to a graduate student, undergraduates may also be considered.

Jon C. Levin Scholarship

This undergraduate scholarship was established to honor the late Physics Professor Jon Levin, who was director of the undergraduate physics program.

Robert W. Lide Citations

The Lide Citations originated in 1998 to recognize students who have made exceptional contributions to the undergraduate instructional laboratories in the spirit of the late Bob Lide, physics professor and laboratory director.

James McConnell Physics Excellence Endowment

James McConnell was a UT graduate who established this endowment for student scholarships and fellowships, faculty awards to acknowledge outstanding teaching and/or research, technology purchases, and any other uses that support or enhance the department’s academic mission.

James E. Parks Award

Physics Alumnus Richard Manley and his wife Melissa established this award in early 2015 to honor retired Physics Undergraduate Laboratory Director James E. Parks and recognize students sharing his commitment to hands-on, innovative physics teaching in a laboratory setting.

Physics Enrichment Fund

This is a flexible account that supports the department’s mission where needed by providing funds for equipment, conference travel, outreach efforts, etc., on behalf of physics faculty and students.

Physics Equipment Fund

This fund supports equipment purchases for physics teaching and outreach.

Lee and Tina Riedinger Endowment for the Department of Physics and Astronomy

This fund was established by Physics Professor and former Department Head Lee Riedinger and his wife Tina, who was a celebrated instructor in the department for many years.

Jim Trolinger Endowed Entrepreneurial Scholarship

Established by Distinguished Alumni Awardee (2009) Jim Trolinger, this scholarship shall be given to students to enable them to participate in research as part of their education in physics.

Physics & Astronomy

College of Arts and Sciences

401 Nielsen Physics Building
1408 Circle Drive
Knoxville TN 37996-1200
Phone: 865-974-3342
Fax: 865-974-7843
Email: physics@utk.edu

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The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996
865-974-1000

The flagship campus of the University of Tennessee System and partner in the Tennessee Transfer Pathway.

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