NSF director lured back to campus with new title

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by Archana Singh

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According to President Malcolm Gillis, the post was established to honor faculty members who have had exceptionally distinguished careers.

"The position will honor those who have made really outstanding contributions to society," Gillis said.

Lane's academic background and administrative background are varied. He joined the Rice Physics Department in 1966 and served as department head. While at Rice, Lane also held the position of university provost from 1984 to 1993, when President Bill Clinton named him to head the NSF. Lane had previously served as director of the NSF physics division from 1979 to 1980.

Current Physics Department Chair Marjorie Corcoran arrived in the department when Lane was department head.

"He was an extremely popular teacher," Corcoran said. "He packed Physics for non-majors. He was a fantastic physicist, and he could teach physics to non-majors and graduate-level quantum mechanics with equal ease."

Although a university professor may teach in any department, Corcoran hopes to see him teaching physics again. "It was a real loss when he left," she said.

Prior to coming to Rice, Lane was a chemistry professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has also been a consultant to the Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1974.

According to a Jan. 16 Rice News article, Gillis wrote Lane in a Dec. 16 letter that "our recommendation for creation of this position for you reads as follows: `A university professor with Doctor Lane's experience could play a central role in furthering educational and research activities at Rice that span many disciplines and reach across divisional lines. His unique understanding of issues of science, technology and society could also mesh with the activities of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy.' We are pleased that we can extend this offer to you at this time."

As for the future of this position, Gillis anticipates more appointments in the next few years.

This item appeared in the News section of the January 31, 1997 issue.

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