2021
Outstanding Service Award
Dr. Lorne Davis served as the Department Chair at TLU from 2003 – 2013. During that time, he began building a physics/pre-engineering program that got the department from its historic role of being a mostly service department, to a degree-producing, active, and engaged community of physics majors. It was Dr. Davis’ leadership that spurred the request to establish the TLU Sigma Pi Sigma Chapter in 2010. Dr. Davis has a distinguished career, rich with professional contributions, a demonstrated dedication to working with undergraduate researchers, innovations that led to patents, high level consultation appointments, and, as department chair at TLU, participation in the SPIN-UP project.
Even though he is retired, Dr. Davis continues to be influential and critically important to the students and faculty of the TLU Physics Department. Dr. Davis has come out of retirement on to help the department when short staffed and is a continual supporter and encourager of the department faculty and students in all ways. Dr. Davis regularly attends and participates in TLU Sigma Pi Sigma induction ceremonies, faculty search presentations, senior capstone presentations, and has devoted endless time to helping develop an improved maker space for students. He demonstrates that he is still interested in the success of the department as a whole, and each individual in it. On his retirement, he developed his own “maker space” in his garage and went about learning new skills and tricks for making all the things. He inspires us with his exuberant attitude of life-long learning, and his gracious willingness to be of service to the department at any time and for any reason. It is because of Dr. Davis’ vision that TLU exists and as a vibrant and thriving community on the small liberal arts campus of TLU.