The Employee Recognition Committee of Staff Senate would like to congratulate the Department of Physics and Physical Science for the October 2004 Department of the Month award.
The Department of Physics and Physical Science has been an integral part of the instructional program throughout the 100-year history of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The department's three constituencies are the students within the department, the university community and the community at large. Within the university, the department offers classes required by students in aviation, biology, chemistry, general studies, geography, health sciences, the Honors Program and mathematics.
Further, the department places an emphasis on scholarly and research collaborations with students. The department has had physics majors attend the National Conference for Undergraduate Research for the last nine years. In addition, physics students have been successful in obtaining NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Grants for the past eight years.
The department's outreach activities include providing monthly public planetarium shows, hosting K-12 school groups on field trips, and visiting local schools to present science lectures and demonstrations. Last year, for example, approximately 2,000 students in grades K-12 visited the UNK Planetarium.
For their departmental dedication to students, to the campus community and to the wider community of South Central Nebraska, Staff Senate is pleased to name the Department of Physics and Physical Sciences as the Department of the Month for October 2004.