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Contact: Jason Marton
jason.marton@tamuk.edu or 361-593-4143

Symmetries in nature the subject of this year's Olan Kruse Lecture Oct. 13

KINGSVILLE (October 6, 2005) — Dr. Richard Tesarek is the featured speaker for the third annual Olan Kruse Lecture Thursday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m. in room 119 of Hill Hall on the Texas A&M University-Kingsville campus. Admission is free.

Tesarek will speak on “Symmetries in Nature: An Experimentalist Perspective.”

In his talk, Tesarek will cite examples of exact and inexact symmetry in the natural world, such as reflections in a mirror or how a dandelion flower gone to seed looks the same from every side, but actually isn’t. He will then relate these examples of natural symmetry to our understanding of how the most fundamental particles interact. Teserak also will touch on modern theories that propose symmetries we have not yet discovered in our world.

Teserak is a research scientist at the nation’s largest particle accelerator, Fermilab. His work includes studying the properties of B baryons, developing instrumentation for monitoring the accelerator at Fermilab, working on radiation measurement, and studying radiation effects in hadron colliders. He holds a B.A. in math and physics from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and a master’s in physics and Ph.D. in elementary particle physics from Duke. Tesarak was the High Energy Physics Student of the Year at Duke in 1988 and received a Wilson Fellowship at Fermilab from September 1999 through 2003.

This lecture series is named in honor of Dr. Olan Kruse, who provided more than 50 years of service to the physics department and the university. Kruse received his bachelor’s degree in physics in 1942 from Texas A&I University. After serving in the Navy during World War II, Kruse returned to South Texas to teach at Texas A&I University while completing his graduate work in physics at the University of Texas. After receiving his doctorate in 1951, he worked for a short time at Stephen F. Austin University before returning to Texas A&I University as chair of the physics department. Kruse helped design the Lon C. Hill Physics Building still in use today, chaired the committee that created the Faculty Senate and served in that assembly each time he was eligible. He chaired the physics department until 1987 and continued to teach at the university until 2000. Along with his wife Lucy, he established the Olan Kruse Science Faculty Award, which recognizes outstanding accomplishments in the sciences within the College of Arts and Sciences. He died in March 2004. “Dr. Kruse left a lasting mark on the physics department and Texas A&M-Kingsville,” said Dr. Dan Suson, chair of the physics department. “The department of physics/geosciences is honored to be associated with him, and pleased to be able to show its gratitude by offering the Olan Kruse Lecture series.”

For more information, call Dr. Dan Suson at 361-593-2618.

This page last updated 7 October, 2005