The 1981-82 academic year was another important transition period for the department. Kissinger began a three-year term as chairman of the department following the retirement of Henry in the spring of 1981. The department took on added teaching responsibilities with the transfer of the astronomy program from the mathematics department. Finally, in a move to bolster enrollments and build for the future, two young physicists were added to the staff.

Howard Brooks and Victor DeCarlo are the newest members of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Brooks is an experimentalist with a Ph.D. in the area of gaseous electronics from the University of Missouri (Rolla); DeCarlo comes via Penn State where he received a Ph.D. in theoretical nuclear physics. Originally, Brooks was hired on a two-year terminal contract as a sabbatical replacement for Henninger in 1981-82 and for Kissinger the following year. However, both appointments became tenure-track when rising enrollments in the department warranted the addition of a fourth permanent staff position.

In a department which prides itself on its teaching, Kissinger has the more impressive credentials, having been twice voted “Best Professor” at DePauw in the last five years. Kissinger has long been involved in summer programs aimed at improving precollege science education in the United States and abroad. During the ‘60s, he participated in a number of NSF Summer Institutes for junior high school science teachers; for the past eight years, he has coordinated the summer Challenge program in Europe for high school seniors attending Department of Defense Dependents School. With his emphasis on “The Fundamentals” and his ability to inspire students, Kissinger is a physics teacher in the finest O.H. Smith tradition. In 1982 he received the first DePauw Alumni Faculty Fellow Award which recognizes a member of the faculty who “contributes significantly to strengthening DePauw’s ties to her Alumni and extends the spirit of the University beyond campus.”

Since 1975, Henninger has played an active role in the continued development of the pre-engineering program at DePauw. He served as director of the program from 1975 to 1984 and continues to teach the Statics and Dynamics courses required of all pre-engineering students. His current interest in Science, Technology, and Society issues has led to a new course, Introduction to Engineering and Technology, which has become a popular elective among pre-engineering and physics students. While on sabbatical in 1981-82, Henninger was Great Lakes Resident Adviser at Oak Ridge, where he conducted seminars and did research leading to a recently published paper on crystallization kinetics. Henninger has been department chairman since 1984 and recently completed a term as president of the Indiana Section of the AAPT

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