Notable

A physics researcher at SIUC is one of a handful of scientists honored by a leading group of scholars.

F. Bary Malik

F. Bary Malik, professor emeritus in the Department of Physics in the College of Science at SIUC, is the recipient of this year's John Wheatley Award from the American Physical Society. Malik will receive $2,000 and a certificate and will speak at the society's annual meeting March 6 in Denver.

The award, which is presented every other year, honors physicists who make contributions to the development of the field in the third-world countries by working with researchers and teachers there.

The society will honor Malik for his extensive contributions to developing physics and inspiring physicists in emerging nations and collaborating, organizing and attracting resources for more than 30 years. Malik has worked with physicists from countries including Argentina, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Jordan and many others. He has organized countless conferences and collaborated on and facilitated dozens of research projects.

Malik retired in 2005 after 25 years at the University. He was named SIUC's Outstanding Scholar in 1996, and continues to conduct research at the University. His work includes heavy-ion physics, strange particle production from hot nuclei and fission theory, among other topics.

Rachel Malcolm-Woods, visiting assistant professor of cinema and photography, is the curator of an exhibit on African culture at the Ridderhof Martin Gallery of the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va.

The exhibit "Talking History in Material Culture: Igbo and Akan Signs in Early Virginia," runs from now until March 2.

Malcolm-Woods tracks the transmission of African culture to the New World via the early slave trade from Ghana and Nigeria to Virginia.

During her many years of research in Virginia, the scholar collected numerous slave artifacts with distinct markings believed to be of African origin. The museum exhibit showcases her work.

“It is exceptional to see all of the artifacts in one museum,” said Malcolm-Woods. “This is particularly significant for the study of the transmigration of African symbols to the United States.”

Malcolm-Woods was a staff educator and committee member for the Igbo Village Project at the Frontier Culture Museum of Virginia, visiting assistant professor of African art at James Madison University (JMU), curator of Continuities and Innovations: African Signs and Symbols in African American Quilts of Virginia and on-site director of JMU in Ghana.