The annual Dept of Physics picnic was a great success. Thanks go to Kent Ludwig and his crew of grillers and all of the staff and students who helped set up, tear down and enjoy the food and fellowship. In addition to the many awards given to students and staff, the award portion of the program was kicked off by the surprise announcement to Bob Wells that he was the recipient of one of 12 annual Distinguished Staff Awards. Following this announcement, John Whitcomb, former dept. manager and the namesake of the Dept. Distinguished Staff Awards, presented Distinguished Staff Awards to Bob Wells, Harold Whitt and Yavonne McGarry. Runners up, Denis Pelekhov and Karen Kitts were recognized as well. 

Awards were then presented to various students and faculty (listed below) culminating in the awarding of the inaugural William R. Riley Excellence in Teaching Physics Award to Daniel Kestner. Dr. Norman L. Gearhart Jr and his wife Reverend Carolyn L. Piper are the gracious donors of the funds for this annual award and were in attendance to announce the award along with its namesake, Professor Emeritus, Bill Riley. 

Other awards presented on May 26, 2011 include:

Clifford Heer Scholarship: Greg Vieira, Zhi Qui

David DeMartini Scholarship: Paul Rimmer

Bunny and Tom Clark Scholarship: Morgan Welsh

Hazel Brown Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award:

Adam Ahmed, John Campbell, Austin Carter, Aleya Dhanji, John Draskovic, Kevin George, Christopher Pluberg, Ryan Schmidt

AAPT 2011 Outstanding Teaching Assistant of the Year: Ryan Schmidt

Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award: Robert Perry

Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award: Samir Mathur