· Congratulations to Professor Luis Orozco, the recipient of this year's Henry C. Welcome Fellowship. The Welcome Fellowship is a grant issued by the Maryland Higher Education Commission to new minority faculty to help Departments create a more diverse faculty. Dr. Orozco is just joining our AMO (atomic, molecular & optical) physics group this fall. Prior to coming to Maryland, he was a professor at Stony Brook University where he was responsible for many successful Mexican-American recuritment efforts. The Department is very pleased that he plans to use this fellowship to continue those types of efforts here at Maryland Physics.

Click here for more information about the Welcome Fellowship.

· Congratulations to Professor Ramamoorthy Ramesh, who has been named Distinguished University Professor! This is one of the University of Maryland's highest honors and is bestowed upon a limited numbers of faculty. Dr. Ramesh is the Department's 12th Distinguished University Professor.

Click here for more about this and other University awards.

· Congratulations to Gretchen Walker, who worked with Professor David Hammer on science education while she was a graduate student. She is now the content coordinator for the Einstein Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History. Gretchen is also a former employee of the University of Maryland Department of Astronomy.