Richard R. Patty Award
2022 • Tristan Seal
In the fall of 1976, Professor Richard "Dick" Patty assumed the headship of the Department of Physics, a position he held for 19 years. During this period, the department gained significantly in teaching, research and public service and began to receive a new measure of national prominence. Two external reviews and two National Research Council reviews of doctoral programs made this recognition explicit. Professor Patty consistently showed a steady balance of judgment under which the department thrived during his long term as head. In fact, after his retirement in 1996 as a full-time faculty member from the position, he continued to teach until 2014 for a total of 50 years. During his years of teaching, research, and leadership, he received numerous awards including the Alexander Quarles Holladay Award for Excellence in 1995 and the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Teaching in 1999. In retirement, he also received the William C. Friday Award for Distinguished Service in Retirement in 2018. Dick passed away at the age of 89 on March 14, 2023.
Award Winners
2022 • Menaka Kumar
2021 • McKenzie Myers
2020 • Melia Kendall
2019 • Keilah Davis
2018 • David Calvert, Elliot Holliday
2017 • Shannon Dwyer
2016 • Benjamin Beaumont
2015 • Sara Berry
2014 • Adrienne Cage
2013 • Mary Burkey
2012 • Adam Keith
2011 • Timothy Canty
2010 • Charles Stevens
2009 • Leslie Watkins
2008 • Turhan Carroll
2007 • Allison McCarn
2005 • Amber McFarland
2004 • Mark Harris, William Robinson
2000 • Jaqueline Jones
1999 • Kjersten Bunker
Dick Patty
In the fall of 1976, Professor Richard Patty assumed the headship of the Department of Physics, a position he held for 19 years. During this period, the department gained significantly in teaching, research and public service and began to receive a new measure of national prominence. Two external reviews and two National Research Council reviews of doctoral programs made this recognition explicit. Professor Patty consistently showed a steady balance of judgment under which the department thrived during his long term as head. In fact, after his retirement in 1996 as a full-time faculty member from the position, he has continued to teach every semester to the date of this writing. Also, he chaired several search committees and later served as acting head of the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and provided stability for that department at a critical juncture in its history.