Prize Recipient

Donald Thomas Jacobs
The College of Wooster

Citation:

"For his research contributions to critical phenomena in binary fluids, and for his sustained excellence and enthusiasm in promoting undergraduate research, both within and beyond his laboratory."

Background:

Dr. Donald Jacobs is the Victor J. Andrew Professor of Physics at The College of Wooster at Wooster, Ohio. After receiving his BA and MA from the University of South Florida in 1971 and 1972, he completed his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 1976. He immediately joined the faculty at The College of Wooster where he was chairperson of the physics department for 19 years. Utilizing leaves at the University of Maryland and grant support from Research Corporation, Petroleum Research Fund, National Science Foundation, and his current support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Dr. Jacobs has established a research program at Wooster that has experimentally investigated critical phenomena in a variety of liquid-liquid mixtures and analogous systems.

Incorporating undergraduates in research projects has been an essential part of his student's education. He has directly supervised 78 students from seven different colleges or universities in extended research projects with 13 former students receiving their Ph.D. Many of his students have presented papers at regional and national conferences and so far, 28 have been co-authors on research publications.

Dr. Jacobs is active in The Council on Undergraduate Research and a member of the Sigma Xi and the American Physical Society. He is co-chair of the eighth national conference of The Council on Undergraduate Research, which will be held at The College of Wooster in June of 2000.

Selection Committee:

Marjorie A Olmstead (Chair), Peter A Beckmann, Richard W Peterson ('98 Recipient), Jean P Krisch (Vice Chair), Peter J Collings