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Willie S. Rockward
Rockward receiving the Worth Seagondollar Service Award at the Society of Physics Students PhysCon 2022
Alma materSouth Terrebonne High School
Georgia Institute of Technology
Grambling State University
University at Albany, SUNY
Scientific career
InstitutionsMorgan State University
Morehouse College

Willie S. Rockward is a physics professor and has served as the chair of the department of physics and engineering physics at Morgan State University since August 2018.[1] His research interests include Micro/Nano Optics Lithography, Extreme Ultraviolet Interferometry, Metamaterials, Terahertz imaging, Nanostructure Characterization, and Crossed Phase Optics.[2] From 2018 to 2020 he was the president of the National Society of Black Physicists.[3]

Early life and education

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Rockward grew up in Louisiana. He attended South Terrebonne High School.[4] He played American football at college (for the South Terrebonne High School Gators) and was a member of the varsity team.[5] He also took part in track and field. He was offered football scholarships at Duke University and Louisiana State University, but was interested in Grambling State University because of the coach Eddie Robinson. Rockward achieved high scores in his ACT and was offered a physics scholarship at Grambling State. At Grambling State, Rockward served as President of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity. He graduated with a B.S. degree cum laude in Physics in 1988.[6] Rockward joined University at Albany, SUNY for his graduate study and earned an M.S. degree in physics in 1991.[7] He moved to Georgia Institute of Technology where he received an M.S. degree in physics in 1994, and a Ph.D. degree in physics in 1997, this under the supervision of Donal O'Shea.[7] Together they worked on diffractive optics and quadrature microscopy.[8][9] Whilst completing his doctorate he worked as a research physicist at the Air Force Research Laboratory.[10] He developed laser radar and guided munitions.[11]

Career

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Rockward joined the faculty of Morehouse College in 1998.[4] He was research director of the Materials and Optics Research & Engineering (MORE) Laboratory.[10][12] He worked on nanolithography, terahertz imaging and physics education. He developed a range of research experiences for undergraduates and the Scholarly Mentorship in Laboratory Experiences (SMILE) program. He also established the Nuclear, Materials, and Space Sciences (NuMaSS) Summer School (NuMaSS) which introduced middle and high school students to a physics career.[13] He was awarded tenure in 2008.[11]

In 2011 Rockward was appointed chair of the department of physics and dual degree engineering, resulting in Morehouse College having the most underrepresented minority Bachelor of Science graduates.[10] As Chair of Department, Rockward investigated the barriers for HBCU physics departments.[14] Rockward is an advocate for mentoring as a method to support students from underrepresented groups in physics.[15][16][17] He launched "We C.A.R.E" (Curriculum, Advisement, Recruitment/ Retention/ Research, and Extras) a pedagogical approach that combines sessions on culture, collaboration and career, alongside the Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers program.[18][19] He was made the Society of Physics Students Outstanding Chapter Advisor in 2012.[20]

In 2017 Rockward was appointed president of Sigma Pi Sigma.[21][22][23] He joined Morgan State University in 2018.[4][24] Working with Associated Universities, Inc. to secure support from the National Science Foundation to deliver the National Society of Black Physicists conference.[25] He has delivered the keynote talk at the Conference for Underrepresented Minority Physicists (CU2MiP).[26]

His current work focuses on extreme ultraviolet laser light and spectroscopic analysis of binary star systems.[9][27]

Personal life

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Rockward has served a combination of 23 years as Pastor of the Divine Unity Missionary Baptist Church in East Point Georgia and Associate Minister of Antioch Baptist Church North in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] Rockward is married to mathematician Michelle Rockward.[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Meet Willie Rockward | EP3 Guide". ep3guide.org. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  2. ^ a b "Dr. Willie S. Rockward". www.morgan.edu. Retrieved 2022-10-07.
  3. ^ "Officers". The National Society of Black Physicists. October 7, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c Guy, Ann Brody (4 September 2018). "Changing the game". symmetry magazine. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  5. ^ Rockward, Willie S. (2018). "Hidden Figures: From Football to Physics - An Unusual Path". APS March Meeting Abstracts. 2018: L06.001. Bibcode:2018APS..MARL06001R.
  6. ^ "Grambling State University - Department of Math & Physics". www.gram.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  7. ^ a b "Willie S. Rockward". Morgan State University. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  8. ^ Rockward, Willie S.; O’Shea, Donald C. (1995-11-10). "Gray-scale masks for diffractive-optics fabrication: II. Spatially filtered halftone screens". Applied Optics. 34 (32): 7518–7526. Bibcode:1995ApOpt..34.7518O. doi:10.1364/AO.34.007518. ISSN 2155-3165. PMID 21060626.
  9. ^ a b DiMarzio, Charles A.; Zhao, Bing; Thomas, Anthony L.; Rockward, Willie S. (2008-04-01). "Quantitative phase measurements using optical quadrature microscopy". Applied Optics. 47 (10): 1684–1696. Bibcode:2008ApOpt..47.1684R. doi:10.1364/AO.47.001684. ISSN 2155-3165. PMID 18382601.
  10. ^ a b c d "Willie Rockward". www.nsbp.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  11. ^ a b "Meet College of Sciences Alumnus Willie Rockward, Chair of Physics at Morehouse College | College of Sciences | Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta, GA". cos.gatech.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  12. ^ "Officers". www.nsbp.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  13. ^ "Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation | Willie S. Rockward CEF '01 on mentoring future scientists". woodrow.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  14. ^ "HBCU Physics Departments: Barriers and Opportunities" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  15. ^ "Making Room in Physics for Everyone". www.aps.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  16. ^ "Leadership Impact Series presents Dr. Willie Rockward for MLK Day Celebration". Millikin University. 2019-01-11. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  17. ^ "2014 May". www.asee-prism.org. May 2014. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  18. ^ "Building a Thriving Undergraduate Physics Program Workshop Sessions". www.phystec.org. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  19. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#1512957 - Innovative Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics Strategy Project". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  20. ^ "Willie Rockward". Society of Physics Students. 2015-08-28. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  21. ^ "Recap of PhysCon". Society of Physics Students. 2017-05-02. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  22. ^ "My Piece of the Pi(e)". Society of Physics Students. 2015-03-05. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  23. ^ "Rockhurst University Launches New Physics Honor Society | Rockhurst University". ww2.rockhurst.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  24. ^ Levitan, Monica (2018-08-24). "Morgan State Hires Husband-Wife Academic Duo". Diverse. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  25. ^ "AUI Partners with NSBP to Convene 2018 National Society of Black Physicists Conference". Associated Universities, Inc. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  26. ^ "2017 CU²MiP". cu2mip.physics.umd.edu. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
  27. ^ "NSF Award Search: Award#1461231 - REU Site: Engineering Applications of Extreme Ultra-Violet (EUV) Laser Light". www.nsf.gov. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
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