Physics Professor Named APS Fellow

Olga Bonfiglio
College of Arts and Sciences staff writer

Dr. Thomas Gorczyca, professor of atomic and molecular physics at Western Michigan University, was named a fellow in the American Physical Society for “advancing our fundamental understanding in the photoionization, spectra and opacities of atomic ions in astrophysical plasmas.”

The criterion for election is exceptional contributions to the physics enterprise like outstanding physics research, important applications of physics, leadership in or service to physics, or significant contributions to physics education. Each fellowship is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one’s professional peers.

Gorczyca is one of five WMU faculty members to be named an APS fellow including:

Eugene M. Bernstein – 1976

John Allen Tanis – 1989

Nora Berrah – 1999

Arthur Robert McGurn – 2005

McGurn and Tanis remain active in the department.

The American Physical Society is a non-profit membership organization working to advance and diffuse the knowledge of physics through its outstanding research journals, scientific meetings, and education, outreach, advocacy, and international activities. APS represents over 51,000 members, including physicists in academia, national laboratories, and industry in the United States and throughout the world. Society offices are located in College Park, Md. (Headquarters), Ridge, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.