North Texas Area Universities to Tout Graduate Physics Offerings

North Texas Area Universities to Tout
Graduate Physics Offerings at Nov. 3 Event

First Annual Workshop Aims to Increase Enrollment in Field

RICHARDSON, Texas (Oct. 23, 2001) - A group of public and private universities in North Texas will promote their graduate-level physics programs to prospective students at a unique, day-long workshop scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 3, at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD).

The first annual “North Texas Graduate Programs in Physics Workshop” will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in UTD’s Kusch Auditorium - an appropriate venue, since it is named after the late Polykarp Kusch, a Nobel laureate in physics and UTD professor.

The event will feature representatives of at least nine universities, including Austin College, Baylor University, the University of Dallas, the University of North Texas, Southern Methodist University, Stephen F. Austin State University, the University of Texas at Arlington, Texas Christian University and UTD. In addition, several other Texas universities may participate.

“Graduate student enrollment in physics at area universities has been flat or gradually declining over the last decade,” said Dr. William Burgett, a visiting professor of physics at UTD and organizer of the workshop. “We envision the workshop as a recruiting tool, where institutions can promote their graduate physics offerings and increase their enrollment in a field that is very vital to the future of this area, this state and this nation.

“This forum will provide a level playing field so that all schools have equal opportunity and access to what we hope will be a relatively large pool of prospective students.”

The target audience for the workshop will be area college juniors and seniors who are majoring in physics, according to Burgett. At the event, they will be able to view presentations by many of the universities, gather information and materials about various graduate-level programs and meet physics faculty from participating schools.

There is no charge to attend the event, and a free lunch will be provided to those in attendance.

For additional information about the graduate physics workshop, please contact UTD’s Dr. Burgett at 972-883-2875 or burgett@utdallas.edu.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 7,000 undergraduate and 5,000 graduate students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s web site at www.utdallas.edu.