Physics and Astronomy

Focus on the Future

The changes that the Department and the University have undergone over the last 25 years have been dramatic, though not always obvious to those outside the academic environment. Within the Department, research labs have been added and expanded while familiar lecture halls like 1001 and 2074 Malott have been gradually upgraded to handle state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment. The Department has seen an almost complete turnover in faculty from the early 80’s, with the number of women increasing from 0 to 3, coupled to over an order of magnitude rise in external funding.

Unfortunately, what has also risen at an alarming pace for our students is the cost of obtaining a degree at either the undergraduate or the graduate level, a product of the declining level of financial support from the State of Kansas. At the same time, our ability to provide financial aid for deserving students and to maintain and upgrade our research and teaching labs at all levels has grown at only a modest pace. Listed below are the endowed funds that have been created over the years, with an encouraging growth in the number in the last decade. The highest priorities for the Department are those Funds that supply unrestricted support to the entire Department (Physics and Astronomy Development Fund), to graduate students (Lowry Fund), and to undergraduate students (Undergraduate Scholars Fund). However, the additional endowed funds with specific criteria do serve an important need and may target an area of the Department that you feel should be emphasized. (In the list below, funds for undergraduates are designated with this color, while funds exclusively supporting graduate students are noted by this color. We encourage you to look over the options for helping the Department, as outlined in the brochures below describing the Focus on the Future Campaign for undergraduate and graduate support.

FOCUS on the FUTURE - UNDERGRADUATE

FOCUS on the FUTURE - GRADUATE

If an area suits your interests, you can donate directly and safely to the specific fund by using the appropriate link below - click on the button to the right of the fund name. The current list of endowed funds accessible to the Department is:

Department Developmental Fund		Engineering Physics Fund
Undergraduate Scholars Fund		Physics Graduate Fellowship
Badgley Scholarship Fund		Hansel Scholarship Fund
Johnson Scholarship Fund		Lowry Graduate Enhancement Fund
MLO 1.25 Meter Telescope Partnership		Nanofabrication Lab Fund
Prosser Scholarship Fund		Stranathan Scholarship Fund
Tombaugh Fund		Zeller Fund
Honor Roll of Donors for 2009

	Departmental Development Fund This Fund provides unrestricted funds to support any need of the Department, including travel costs for invited speakers, student expenses for research and conferences, publication of the annual newsletter, Momentum, etc.
	Badgley Fund Financial support for a a female undergraduate majoring in any program within the Department. (Pictured at left is Elisabeth Callen, first recipient of the Badgely Scholarship). Past recipients can be found at this link.
	Engineering Physics Fund This fund is established to provide financial support and academic resources (tuition, research support, travel expenses, etc.) for students majoring in Engineering Physics.
	Paul G. Hansel Fund Financial support to cover tuition and fees for a student majoring in Engineering Physics. Normally awarded to a sophomore. Past recipients can be found at this link.
	Harriett Johnson Fund Financial support for an incoming freshman majoring in Astronomy within the Department.
	John Lowry Fund Financial support for an exceptional graduate student within the Department. Student must be a US citizen.
	MLO 1.25 Meter Telescope Partnership Funds to overhaul and upgrade the Mt. Laguna Observatory, remote-access 1.25 meter telescope instrumentation, in partnership with San Diego State University. All donations will be matched dollar for dollar by the CLAS. A PDF brochure with details is accessible here.
	Nanofabrication Lab Fund Financial support for a graduate student working within Condensed Matter/Nano Physics and support for the Nanofabrication Lab.
	Frank Prosser Fund Financial support for an outstanding junior in Physics or Engineering Physics. Past recipients can be found at this link.
	Physics and Astronomy Graduate Fellowship Fund Financial support for a graduate student working toward a PhD within the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
	Stranathan Fund Financial support for an outstanding senior Physics or Engineering Physics major. Past recipients can be found at this link.
	Tombaugh Fund Financial support for students majoring in Astronomy and support for equipment for the Tombaugh Observatory. Past recipients can be found at this link.
	Undergraduate Scholars Fund Financial support for an incoming freshman in any major within the Department
	Zeller Fund Support for the purchase of instrumentation for research or lab use.