University News
Gumbart Earns PKP Graduate Fellowship; Top Research Honors to Seniors
April 24, 2003
(L-R) Charles Helm, president of WIU's Phi Kappa Phi Chapter and chair of the political science department; James Gumbart. (Download print-quality image) |
(L-R) Charles Helm, president of WIU's Phi Kappa Phi Chapter and chair of the political science department; Matthew E. Tillman; and Dr. Mark S. Boley, Tillman's advisor in the Department of Physics. (Download print-quality image) |
(L-R) Charles Helm, president of WIU's Phi Kappa Phi Chapter and chair of the political science department; Jessica Ruppert; and Dr. Lisa Wen, Ruppert's advisor in the Department of Chemistry. (Download print-quality image) |
(L-R) Charles Helm, president of WIU's Phi Kappa Phi Chapter and chair of the political science department; Sheila Nollen; Whitney Wooderchak; and Paul Nollen. (Download print-quality image) |
(L-R) Charles Helm, president of WIU's Phi Kappa Phi Chapter and chair of the political science department; and Jenelle Boo. (Download print-quality image) |
MACOMB, IL - More than 200 Western Illinois University upperclassmen and graduate students were inducted in the WIU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi honor society during an April 6 ceremony in the University Union.
Admission to the honor society is by invitation only and requires nomination. Invitations are extended to the top five percent of juniors, top 10 percent of seniors and the top five percent of graduate students. Founded in 1897 at the University of Maine, the name Phi Kappa Phi is based on the Greek words Philosophia Krateito Photon, "Let the love of learning rule humanity."
The WIU chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was chartered in 1972 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship in academic disciplines, honor persons of good character who excel in scholarship and serve the interest of the students by promoting an atmosphere conducive to academic excellence.
Six WIU students received individual scholarship recognition in addition to initiation.
James "JC" Gumbart, a senior from Macomb with majors in physics and mathematics and a minor in computer science, was introduced as one of 52 students nationwide to earn a Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship, which includes an $8,000 stipend toward the first year of graduate study. He is the sixth consecutive Western Illinois student to earn a Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Fellowship.
Gumbart, who has been researching magnetics, currents and magnetic fields with physics faculty mentors Mark Boley and James Rabchuk, will begin working toward a doctorate in physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Fall 2003.
"More than anyone else, I have the physics department to thank for my education," Gumbart said. "Even with limited resources, the professors here provided me with the invaluable experience, both in the classroom and in independent research, which will allow me to be successful at a world-renowned graduate institution."
Gumbart will graduate May 10 as the College of Arts and Sciences College Scholar with Summa Cum Laude (highest honors) academic distinction. He also has been named an Honors Scholar and the Physics Departmental Scholar.
Two students were honored at the Phi Kappa Phi initiation with the Lowell Grabill Undergraduate Research Award: Matthew Tillman, a senior from Pekin with majors in physics and computer science, first place; and Jessica Ruppert, a senior chemistry major from Bushnell, second place.
Tillman has been conducting research using Raman spectroscopy to study the superconductivity mechanism in a new material (magnesium diboride) with Boley. Ruppert has been working with Lisa Wen, chemistry professor, on angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels.
Whitney Wooderchak, a senior chemistry major from Auburn, received the Sheila and Paul Nollen PKP Scholarship, named in honor of the faculty members and benefactors of the scholarship. Paul Nollen retired from WIU in 1999 following more than 35 years of service as a professor of biological sciences; Sheila Nollen retired in 2002 as a professor of libraries at WIU. Wooderchak has been conducting research on medical implications of flavonoids, which are naturally occurring antioxidants found in vegetables, with assistant chemistry professor John Hartman.
Jenelle Boo, a junior psychology major from Tremont, received the Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship.
Ty Beckmann, a junior graphic communication major from Bellevue, NE, received the Roland Grass Memorial Scholarship. Grass, who was Spanish professor and assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, was a charter member of Western's PKP chapter.
See the WIU website www.wiu.edu/CountyNews for the complete listing of inductees. The junior, senior and graduate level classification corresponds to students' records at the end of the Fall 2002 semester.
Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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