2015 Hall of Distinction
March 20, 2015
The LSU College of Science inducted four exceptional individuals into the Hall of Distinction on March 20, 2015. This year’s honorees are Meredith Blackwell, LSU System Boyd Professor Emerita in Biological Sciences; John O’Neill, former director of the LSU Museum of Natural Science; Arnold Bouma, Professor Emeritus in Geology & Geophysics; and Edward Zganjar, Professor Emeritus in Physics & Astronomy.
Edward Zganjar, LSU Professor Emeritus in Physics & Astronomy, former DeMarcus D. Smith Endowed Alumni Professor and prominent experimental nuclear physicist, earned his bachelor’s of science in physics and mathematics from St. John’s University followed by a master’s and Ph.D. in nuclear physics from Vanderbilt University. He is known in the nuclear physics community for systematic analysis of complex nuclear spectroscopic data, for designing and building state-of-the-art nuclear spectroscopic instrumentation, and for his contribution to the establishment of a university consortium and laboratory within the Holifield nuclear facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Zganjar served as chair of the LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy from 1982-1985 and associate vice chancellor for research and economic development from 1990-1994. He has published over 142 journal articles, 220 published conference contributions, and maintained continuous external funding throughout his career. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), and a recipient of the Southeastern Section of the American Physical Society’s Francis G. Slack Award for excellence in service to physics in the Southeast
