ANN ARBOR—University of Michigan physics professor Homer A. Neal has received the 2003 Edward A. Bouchet award from the American Physical Society (APS). The award is given annually to promote the participation of under-represented minorities in physics by identifying and recognizing a distinguished minority physicist who has made significant contributions to physics research. It was established in 1994 by the APS Committee on Minorities in Physics and made possible by a grant from the Research Corporation. Neal, who is the Samuel A. Goudsmit Professor of Physics at the U-M and is director of the U-M-ATLAS Collaboratory Project, was honored “for his significant contributions to experimental high energy physics, for his important role in formulating governmental science policy, for his service as a university administrator at several universities, and for his advocacy of diversity and educational opportunity at all levels.” Neal’s research area is experimental high energy physics and he has led many experiments that have clarified the nature of spin effects in high energy particle interactions. He is currently on a team that is conducting research at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in Switzerland. Neal has had many U-M administrative posts, including interim president (1996-97) and vice president for research (1993-96). He has served as a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, as a member of the National Science Board, and as chairman of the NSF Physics Advisory Committee. He has been an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow and a John S. Guggenheim Fellow. In addition, he is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He chairs the External Advisory Council of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications, is a member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Co. and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Washington-based Center for the Study of the Presidency.

Related links:

The Bouchet Award and its previous recipients

Homer Neal faculty page

University of Michigan Physics department