Newly established endowments support student success and career development
Alumni have established endowments to support student success and career development in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Don Packwood and his late wife Leona in Pedernal, New Mexico
Donald L. and Lona Lewis Packwood Endowed Assistant Professor of Applied Physics
As alumnus and one of the co-founders of our Physics Leaders group, Don Packwood has generously contributed both his time and resources to our Department of Physics and Astronomy. His contributions are now able to endow a new position for assistant professor. The university has approved a search for this new position which will soon be underway. Don also funds an annual undergraduate student scholarship: the “Donald L. and Lona Lewis Packwood Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship Fund in Physics."
Packwood received his PhD from our department in 1971 and followed that with a career at several companies, most of it at Hewlett Packard Corporation. He received an MU-A&S Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004, and a Distinguished Alumni Award from our department in 2020.
Ronald J. Boain and Catherine J. Boain Endowed PhD Dissertation Award in Physics and the Ronald J. Boain and Catherine J. Boain Endowed Student Travel Fund
Through the generosity of alumnus Ronald J. Boain the Department of Physics and Astronomy has been presenting an annual cash award for the top PhD dissertations and awarding funds to our students to enable them to attend conferences and other trave. These funds, originally set up in 2019, are now endowed in perpetuity and will benefit our students far into the future.
Additionally, Ron and Catherine established the Ronald J. Boain and Catherine J. Rangel Boain Endowment fund supporting travel to professional conferences and research sites for our graduate students.
Ron had a long and varied successful career in aerospace at TRW, Martin Marietta Aerospace, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Ron was the 2024 recipient of the Department of Physics & Astronomy Distinguished Alumni Award and is one of our Physics Leaders.
Catherine and Ronald Boain
