The newly named Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy celebrated the largest single gift ever to a program in the College of Arts and Sciences Wednesday.
Nancy Mergler, senior vice president and provost, said at the ceremony that the Avenir Foundation, founded by Dodge's descendants, has pledged to give $6 million to the department.
"At its meeting [Tuesday], the OU Board of Regents voted to name OU's department of physics and astronomy to honor this great statesman of science," Mergler said.
Homer L. Dodge served as the chairman of the physics department at OU from 1919 to 1942.
His daughter, Alice Dodge Wallace, said the department embodies many of the ideals her father taught throughout his life.
"The university's present plan for a much-enhanced department of physics and astronomy and the desire of my family to see our father's dream for an ever-developing department have fortuitously fallen into place at the same time," Wallace said.
Mergler said the gift will help the department in several ways.
"These funds will be used to benefit both faculty and students in the department as well as improving the facilities in Nielsen Hall," Mergler said.
Mergler said $3 million will be used to endow three research chairpersons within the department.
One endowed chairperson will specialize in astrophysics, one in high-energy physics and the last in molecular and atomic physics.
These chairperson positions could receive matching funds from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, Mergler said.
Mergler said $1 million will go to student support, specifically to scholarships for graduate students.
Samantha Gunawardana, physics graduate student, said he thinks this gift will benefit him directly.
"It's a very big advantage to the department, because it provides new buildings and scholarships," Gunawardana said at the ceremony.
The final $2 million will fund phase three of the Nielsen Hall renovations. Students can already see the effects of recent renovations in Nielsen Hall.
Paul Bell, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the addition of a Foucault pendulum facing the South Oval and a viewing walkway are particularly visible marks of improvement.
A Foucault pendulum prove the rotation of the Earth.
New offices in Nielsen Hall come equipped with public chalkboards in the hallways, Bell said.
There, physics students can collectively work out difficult physics problems, like the title character in the Matt Damon-Ben Affleck movie "Good Will Hunting."
In addition to these changes, a portrait and bronze plaque in Nielsen Hall will commemorate the contribution of the Dodge family to the department.
"We understand the responsibility to use this gift wisely," said Ryan Doezema, chairman of the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Mergler said Dodge was more than a scientist.
"He was a teacher," Mergler said. "Professor Dodge took the position and a pay cut to come to the University of Oklahoma."
A release from the College of Arts and Sciences said Dodge believed in the merging of applied and theoretical physics that resulted in the creation of an engineering physics major on campus.
Dodge also conducted research for the government during both world wars, immediately before and after his tenure at OU.
He went on to become the president of Norwich University in Vermont.hello there & you too
