Item 103-1016-R0599
May 20-21, 1999
ITEM 103-1016-R0599 Resolution Concerning the Retirement of Randolph H. Jeppesen, Professor of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences; The University of Montana-Missoula
THAT: Because of 38 years of dedicated service to The University of Montana, Dr. Randolph H. Jeppesen, Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, has merited the commendation of the Board of Regents of the Montana University System, and has earned the title of Professor of Physics Emeritus.
EXPLANATION: Randy Jeppesen started his association with The University of Montana as an undergraduate student, and he received his B.A. in physics and mathematics from the University in 1958. He then attended the University of Illinois, where he received an M.S. in physics in 1960. After spending a year at IBM, he returned to The University of Montana in 1961 as an instructor in physics, and he has been teaching physics here ever since. Professor Jeppesen started doing experimental nuclear physics research at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the early 1970s, and he has spent most of his summers (and a couple of sabbatical years) working there, largely at LAMPF (the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility). His work at Los Alamos has led to over two dozen publications in the Physical Review and other journals, and his collaborations there continued until just a couple of years ago. Professor Jeppesen’s early work at Los Alamos led to his Ph.D. in physics in 1980 from New Mexico State University.
Professor Jeppesen has been an innovator in the teaching of physics, especially in the use of computers. He was the first in the Department to use computer simulations as lecture demonstrations, and he created a new course in computational physics. He was the driving force behind the establishment of our new student computer labs, and he has been instrumental in making MATHCAD and MAPLE household words for both the other faculty and our students. Randy has served with distinction as a director and as a judging coordinator for many years for the Montana Science Fair. He has also served two terms as Department chair: from 1973 to 1976 and again from 1990 to 1999, both times of transition for the Department. We will miss his tireless dedication to the teaching of physics and all his hard work as chair during the last decade.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy is honored to recommend Professor Randy Jeppesen for Emeritus status.