Prizes & Awards

Francis Slack Award

The Francis G. Slack Award was created by the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society to honor Excellence in Service to Physics in the Southeast. The award is named for Francis G. Slack, a distinguished Vanderbilt University scientist who was a Southeastern Section charter member and contributed significantly to its development.

The award recognizes those who have worked unselfishly to:

  1. Bring about significant new research facilities in the region,

  2. Significantly strengthen and raise the stature of particular departments of physics in the region,

  3. Provide significant leadership and work to strengthen and build the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society, Sigma Pi Sigma, the Society of Physics Students, and other regional organizations,

  4. Develop physics consortia of universities and/or research institutions that have benefited the region and the nation, and

  5. Carry out other service and administrative activities such as organizing significant conferences held in the region, international exchanges, public outreach to K-12, etc.

Nomination Information

Nominations for each award should be sent to the award committee chair by August 23rd, 2024, as a single PDF file. (If electronic submission is impossible, please send five copies of the nomination.) A complete nomination consists of a CV, a nominating letter, and up to three supporting letters (a maximum of two pages each). At least one of the letters should be from an institution other than the nominee's home institution. No other supporting documents are needed, but they might be included. We particularly encourage you to think of potential women and overlooked minority candidates. Nominations will be considered active for three years, though updating materials for nominees not chosen in the prior year is encouraged. Past winners are listed below.

Send Materials to:
Vice Chair: Lamiaa El Fassi
Mississippi State University
le334@msstate.edu

Past Recipients

  • 2023: Prof. Roxanne Springer, Duke University
  • 2022: Dr. H. Kennon Carter, Oak Ridge Associated Universities
  • 2021: Prof. Nadia Fomin, University of Tennessee Knoxville
  • 2020: Prof. Eric Weeks, Emory University
  • 2019: Simonetta Liuti, University of Virginia
  • 2018: Ken C. McGill, Sr. Georgia College
  • 2017: Hari Areti, Old Dominion University and Jefferson Laboratory
  • 2016: Cynthia E. Keppel, Hampton University
  • 2015: Gregory S. Boebinger, Florida State University
  • 2014: Edward F. Zganjar, Louisiana State University
  • 2013: Gail Dodge, Old Dominion University
  • 2012: Hermann Grunder, emeritus director JLAB
  • 2011: David Ernst, Vanderbilt University
  • 2010: Kirby Kemper, Florida State University
  • 2009: Eugen Merzbacher, University of North Carolina
  • 2008: Laurence Cain, Davidson College
  • 2007: Ronald E. Mickens, Clark Atlanta University
  • 2006: Jerry P. Draayer, Louisiana State University
  • 2005: Lee Riedinger, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
  • 2004: Ernest Jones, Vanderbilt University
  • 2003: William Hamilton, Louisiana State University; Warren Johnson, Louisiana State University
  • 2002: Myron S. McCay, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga
  • 2001: Howard E. Carr, Auburn University
  • 2000: Joseph Hamilton, Vanderbilt University; Worth Seagondollar, North Carolina State University

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.