NORMAN — The dedication of the Homer L. Dodge Physics Complex and Lin Hall is set for Friday and Saturday, Oct 12 and 13, at the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. The Avenir Foundation and Chun C. Lin, donors for the complex, will attend the celebration.
In appreciation of the gifts, the OU Board of Regents recognized Homer L. Dodge, who served as chair of the OU Physics and Astronomy Department from 1919 until 1944, by naming the physics complex “The Dodge Physics Complex,” and Lin by naming the new academic building Lin Hall. Lin Hall and Nielsen Hall will comprise the new physics complex.
Weekend activities begin with a public lecture titled “Football: Its Physics and Its Future” by Timothy Gay, Willa Cather Professor of Physics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, at 7:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 12 at 170 Nielsen Hall, 440 W. Brooks, Norman.
The dedication of the research facilities begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday. OU President James Gallogly, Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy Chair Phillip Gutierrez, members of the Dodge family and Professor Lin will be on hand. Tours of the building will be available. The celebration will conclude with The Road to Excellence Gala at 6 p.m. on Saturday evening at the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. Registration is required to attend the banquet. Contact the department at (405) 325-6440 for more information.
“This is an exciting moment for the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy,” said David Wrobel, dean, OU College of Arts and Sciences. “We are enormously grateful to the Avenir Foundation, the Homer L. Dodge family and to Chun Lin for the generous support they have provided to make this building and new complex a reality. These dedicated supporters and benefactors of the department have financed the construction of these physical structures that will in turn serve as the home to the next century of field changing physics research at OU.”
“The new laboratories will be dedicated to fundamental research in quantum physics including Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics and Condensed Matter Physics, which form the basis of the emerging field of “Quantum Technology,” said Phillip Gutierrez, chair of the department. “These new laboratories will allow OU faculty and students to participate in this new exciting field, which has the potential of transforming technology in a manner similar to what occurred with the invention of the transistor in 1947. All of this comes at a very opportune time since it aligns with the National Quantum Initiative that has the support of Congress and the White House.”
The new academic building will feature modular design for maximum flexibility in the more than 18,000 square feet of research laboratory space as well as office space for faculty and graduate students and an astronomy observatory on the roof. The laboratories will have advanced temperature control, vibration and acoustic isolation, and electromagnetic shielding in addition to providing critically needed space. It is one of only a few buildings in the world to meet the NIST-A requirements on vibrations, temperature and humidity, as well as electromagnetic interference.
The new complex will be instrumental in attracting outstanding faculty to the university and helping with OU President James Gallogly’s goal of increasing research.
