September 19-20, 2002

ITEM 116-2003-R0902   Authorization to Confer the Title of Professor Emeritus of Physics upon Larry Kirkpatrick; Montana State University-Bozeman

THAT:  Upon the occasion of the retirement Larry Kirkpatrick from the faculty of Montana State University, the Board of Regents wishes to express its appreciation for his service to the University, the Montana University system, and the people of the State of Montana.

EXPLANATION:   Dr. Kirkpatrick received his Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, with a thesis in experimental elementary particle physics. His undergraduate degree, B.S. in Physics, was obtained at Washington State University-Pullman in 1963. He joined Montana State University in 1974 as Assistant Professor of Physics.

Dr. Kirkpatrick has been an active member of the American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) for many years. He served as chair of two Area Committees and the Nominating Committee for AAPT. He co-hosted the annual summer meeting of this organization in 1987 and was a Project Associate for the highly successful Physics Teaching Resource Agents program. He served on the Executive Board as an At-Large Member from 1992 to 1995 and was elected to the presidential chain in 1996. As President of AAPT, Kirkpatrick brought additional visibility to Montana State University and helped to establish the Physics Department as one of the nation's leading centers for the improvement of science education.

From 1995 until 1998, Dr. Kirkpatrick was coach of the Unite States Physics Team, a group of five high school physics students chosen from across the country that competes in the annual International Physics Olympiad. During his tenure as coach, the U.S. Team won its first silver and gold medals and received the highest individual score in the world. Kirkpatrick co-authored a textbook for the conceptual physics market that has become the second most widely adopted book, praised for its quality of writing and the correctness of its physics. He has been field editor for physics of Quantum Magazine since 1991.

Dr. Kirkpatrick has received numerous awards for outstanding contributions to physics teaching: Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Teaching Award, MSU, 1979; Distinguished Service Citation, AAPT, 1082; Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Outstanding Teaching, MSU, 1982; Recognition of Superior Service to Science Education, Montana Science Teachers Association, and was named Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1999.

For these and other contributions, the Board of Regents of Higher Education is pleased to confer upon Larry Kirkpatrick the rank of Professor Emeritus of Physics at Montana State University and wishes him well for many years in the future.