Department of Physics

History of the Physics Department

The beginning of physics at Iowa State Normal School (ISNS), predecessor of the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), was marked by the appointment in 1899 of a physicist, Louis Begeman, who had just received his M.S. from the University of Michigan. Laboratories were introduced in the physics courses which, until then, had been taught strictly by the lecture method. Impetus came from a change in Iowa laws adding physics to the required subjects for the two-year county certificates for public school teachers. Two additional physics staff members were hired in the early 1900's. Improved facilities were provided for physics and chemistry with the construction in 1906 of the new Laboratory Building (now called the Physics Building.) Commitment to teaching physics through laboratory experiences has been characteristic from that time to the present.

Begeman was a colorful character who was a leading activist in the faculty at ISNS. In at least one dispute he went over the head of the president to the Board of Trustees where his position prevailed. He played a major role in bringing about a change in the departmental organization. In 1908 the Board of Trustees created the new rank of Department Head and established 13 departments, with Louis Begeman named as Head of the Physics Department. At a faculty meeting in 1908 Begeman made the motion that the name of the school be changed to Iowa State Teachers College (ISTC) and in 1909 that became the legal name.

In 1910 Begeman received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago under the renowned Professor Robert Millikan. Begeman's Ph.D. work, published in the Physical Review under the title "The Determination of the Charge of the Electron." was based on a water droplet method, a first version of the famous oil drop method which led to the Nobel Prize for Millikan. Begeman was hurt by the lack of recognition by Millikan who was the sole author of later papers. He continued his influential role at ISTC until his retirement in 1935. After his death in 1958 the Louis Begeman Memorial Scholarship was established.

ISTC was the site of early work in radio carried out in 1916 by a student, Eugene Grossman, and a physics professor, J.O. Perrine. One application of their pioneering activity was a play-by-play coverage of a football game between ISTC and what became Iowa State University. Perrine later became a Vice President at the Bell Telephone Laboratories and Grossman became well known for contributions at the new NBC and later formed the sound department at the Fox Film Corporation in Hollywood.

William Kadesch, hired in 1910, also received a University of Chicago Ph.D. under Professor Millikan. Though often in the shadow of the more forceful and dominant Begeman, in his quiet way Kadesch also left his mark as a physics educator at ISTC. The years 1935-49, spanning a world-wide depression and a world war, were a financially lean and troubling period for ISTC with reduction of funding and course offerings. The various science departments were combined into one large Department of Science.

Restrengthening and expanding of the physics program occurred after World War II. Willard Poppy, hired in 1949, and Verner Jensen in 1953 played major roles in this period. The limited mission of preparing teachers became broadened in 1961 along with the name change to State College of Iowa and the offering of bachelor degrees in liberal arts (i.e. non-teaching.) With the expanded mission and increased emphasis on graduate programs to upgrade high school teachers, rapid growth of the physics faculty occurred in the 1960's. In 1967 there was another mission change and a renaming to University of Northern Iowa. Separate science departments were established so, as in 1913-35, there was again a Department of Physics (for two years combined with Earth Science). Poppy served as the first acting head. A number of new physics faculty appointments were made of persons with recent Ph.D. degrees who, in addition to teaching, were expected to conduct publishable physics research suitable for undergraduate student participation. Initial research areas were solid state physics and nuclear spectroscopy. A limited graduate program for continuing education for high school teachers was introduced. Roger Hanson served as Department Head 1969-1980 and Gerald Intemann 1980-1990. After Intemann was named Dean of the College of Natural Sciences in 1991, Fred Behroozi became Department Head. An exceptionally congenial collegial atmosphere has characterized the Physics Department of nine full-time faculty members throughout this period.

After 1968, with the introduction of higher level undergraduate theoretical and experimental courses, there were developed several tracks to accommodate a variety of student interests and abilities. They have evolved into four currently offered undergraduate degree programs: B.A., Physics; B.A., Physics Teaching; B.S., Physics (including a required research project;) and B.S., Applied Physics (including an internship.) During the 1980's and 1990's the dramatic development of personal computers has drastically modified the activities of faculty and students in both research and course work. Curricular modifications now provide for the important new subject of computational physics which enables the analysis of many natural phenomena not tractable with traditional experimental or theoretical physics.

Research in nuclear spectroscopy was phased out in the 1980's and programs in applied optics, musical acoustics and surface physics have been developed. Though the responsibilities of the physics faculty now include more research, the traditional emphasis on excellent teaching is still primary, with undergraduate participation in research as an important combination of the teaching and research function. The Department prides itself in close informal interactions between students and faculty in both the research and course setting. The preparation of high school science teachers continues to be a high priority. The nationally known PRISMS program, developed and administrated principally by Roy Unruh, Professor of Physics and Science Education, supports and enhances existing high-school physics curricula. Most physics faculty members are currently involved in the modification of the introductory physics courses into a more activity-based, interactive format with the goal of improving student understanding of concepts and principles.

(Prepared by Roger Hanson, 5/21/97)

A history of the Physics Building maybe found on the Rod Library Special Collections page at: http://www.library.uni.edu/speccoll/bh/bhphysic.html.