Title: James and Ruth Smith Endowed Professor of Physics Emeritus
Company: Southern University and A&M College
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Affiliations/Associations/Societies:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- American Association of Physics Teachers
- American Nuclear Society
- American Physical Society (fellow, 2008)
- American Physical Society Bridge Program, National Advisory Board (2008–2017)
- American Physical Society, Committee on Minorities in Physics (chair, 1988-1989)
- California Institute of Technology, Division of Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy (visiting associate, 2000-2013)
- Committee on Opportunities in Science (COOS) (2017)
- Cornell University
- LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) (principal investigator, 2000–present)
- Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund (LA BoRSF) Advisory Committee (representative, 2016)
- Materials Research Society
- Mount Pilgrim Baptist Church (deacon)
- National Society of Black Physicists (charter fellow, past president)
- Sigma Xi
- Southern University and A&M College (university marshal, 2015–present)
- Southern University System (SUS)
- Southern University, Biohazards Safety Committee (chair, 1999–present)
- University of Rochester
Achievements:
- Honoree, Distinguished Worldwide Humanitarian Award (2022)
- Inductee, Top Professionals of the Year, Marquis Who’s Who (2020)
- Recipient, Royal Astronomical Society Group Achievement Award, LIGO Scientific Collaboration (2017)
- Distinguished Memorial Lecturer, National Institute of Science, Beta Kappa Chi (2017)
- Recipient, Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, LIGO Scientific Collaboration (2016)
- Recipient, Louisiana Role Model Award, Baton Rouge Chapter of the Links (2016)
- Recipient, Gruber Cosmology Prize, LIGO Scientific Collaboration (2016)
- Distinguished Lecturer in Physics, Howard University Department of Physics, Sigma Xi (2016)
- Recipient, Scientist in Education Award, Phi Delta Kappa (2016)
- Honoree, Faculty Member of the Year, HBCU Digest Male (2016)
- Fellow, Inaugural LIGO Scientific Collaboration (LSC) (2015)
- Library of Congress HistoryMakers® Inaugural Digital Archive Entry (2014)
- Recipient, Millionaire Club Award, Office of Sponsored Programs, Southern University and A&M College (2013)
- NIST Colloquium Series Lecturer, “LIGO: At the forefront of optical physics research” (2008)
- Honoree, Faculty Researcher of the Year in the College of Sciences, Southern University and A&M College (2005)
- Recipient, Outstanding Research Investigator Award, Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA (2003)
- Recipient, Outstanding Service Award, Southern University and A&M College Honors College (2003)
- Recipient, Competitive Grant Award, Chancellor’s Recognition Program, Southern University and A&M College (2002)
- Invited Guest, White House Millennium Lecture by Stephen Hawking, Washington, D.C. (1998)
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Visiting Scientist in Physics and Astronomy, Wayne State University (1997)
- Featured Listee, “Who’s Who in the East,” Marquis Who’s Who (1991-1992)
- Honoree, Research Citation, NASA’s Office of Technology Utilization (1989)
- NASA/ASEE Summer Faculty Fellow, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL (1987)
- Featured Listee, “Who’s Who of Emerging Leaders in America,” Marquis Who’s Who (1987-1988)
- Featured Listee, “Who’s Who in the South and Southwest,” Marquis Who’s Who (1986-1989)
- Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) Summer Science Program Scholar, U.S. Department of Energy, Stanford, CA (1970)
- Crown Zellerbach Foundation Fellow, Department of Physics, University of California, Los Angeles (1968-1969)
- Scholar, Columbia University, Carnegie and Ford Foundations Intensive Summer Studies Program (ISSP) (1968)
- Recipient, Academic Scholarship Award, Four-year Southern University and A&M College (1966-1970)
- Valedictorian, Joseph S. Clark High School, New Orleans, LA (1966)
- Recipient, Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company Outstanding Advancement in Science Award, Joseph S. Clark High School, New Orleans, LA (1966)
- Recipient, Felton G. Clark Award, Joseph S. Clark High School, New Orleans, LA (1965)
- Honoree, Research Citation, NASA’s Office of Technology Utilization
- John McMullen Graduate Fellow in Nuclear Science, Cornell University
