Presentation by Matt Walhout at reception for Stan Haan and David Van Baak
2011 March 1
Welcome everyone. I’m Matt Walhout, dean for research and scholarship here at Calvin
and a member of the physics and astronomy department.
It is my privilege this afternoon to say a few words about the two Calvin faculty we’re
celebrating today, Dr. David Van Baak and Dr. Stanley Haan. Both are longtime members of
the Department of Physics and Astronomy. In case you haven’t heard, David and Stan have
recently been elected to positions of great distinction in the field of physics; each of them
has been named a Fellow of the American Physical Society.
Our college owes a lot to these two. Our department could hardly imagine itself
without them. I myself—having once been a student to each of them—can’t begin to tell
you all the things I’ve learned from them. But let me tell you about why this international
organization, The American Physical Society, or APS, has elected them as Fellows.
I’ll start with Stan. At a conference this coming May, the APS Division of Atomic,
Molecular, and Optical Physics will give Stan his official certificate of Fellowship. The
citation will read as follows: “For contributions to the theory of photodetachment,
photoionization, and photorecombination processes, including quantum and classical models
for double ionization of atoms.” Now, only Stan really knows what any of that means, but I
believe it has something to do with the major advances that he has made in theoretical
physics. Basically, Stan has thought long and hard about how bright pulses of laser light can
strip electrons away from atoms. This process is extremely complicated. It’s difficult to
figure out what the electrons are likely to do when they get zapped with the laser. It’s hard
to predict which direction they’ll go and how fast they’ll be traveling. But, lucky for us, Stan
knows how the complicated, mathematical details should go, and this has allowed him to
develop what the citation calls a “quantum model” of the process. Plus, we’re even luckier,
because Stan has also given physicists a way to see through the complicated quantum math
so that we can visualize electrons shaking loose from their moorings. In other words, he has
figured out how to turn equations into cartoons! These cartoons are the great achievement
of the “classical models” mentioned in his official citation. Now, everyone likes cartoons,
but wow; imagine one showing a laser having its way with an atom! I’ve been telling Stan
he’d have a best seller if he would publish a Photoionization for Dummies book, but it seems
he’s too busy churning out major journal articles with his team of undergraduates.
This leads me to another dimension of Stan’s professional life: that of teacher and
research mentor. Stan’s research success in the undergraduate setting speaks to the
extraordinary levels of patience, organizational skill, and personal commitment that
accompany his outstanding scientific ability. His projects have received funding from the
National Science Foundation for 23 consecutive years, and this has allowed him to provide
more than 40 fulltime summer research positions for Calvin students. Furthermore, Stan is
a mentor not only to these students but also to colleagues wanting advice on writing
proposals, planning research programs, and balancing research with the rest of life’s
activities.
Balancing priorities in the undergraduate context is one of Stan’s greatest skills. While
maintaining extremely high standards in research, he also sets high expectations for himself
(and others) in the classroom. As department chair he led Calvin’s physics and astronomy
department through a curricular renaissance, and he continues to promote pedagogical
excellence as a high priority in our discipline.
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So, while his election as an APS Fellow recognizes his contributions to the physics
research community, I want to take this opportunity to thank Stan for his work and his
leadership here at Calvin College as well. Please join me in this.
And now let me tell you a bit about David Van Baak. David was nominated for
Fellowship in the APS through the Society’s Forum on Education, and his citation reads:
“For successfully refining and extending experiments used in the undergraduate curriculum
and for promulgating the use of diode lasers in the undergraduate laboratory.” This simple
statement hardly begins to tell the story. So with the little time I have here, let me fill in just
a couple of the gaps.
Let’s start in 1987, when David started building laser systems from scratch. The kind
of laser I’m talking about is familiar to most of us these days: it’s called a diode laser, and it’s
the kind of laser used in CD players and laser pointers. Back in the 80’s and 90’s, these
devices were new to the consumer electronics market and would soon revolutionize the
industry. David saw that they would also revolutionize the research laboratory and the
undergraduate physics curriculum, so he started developing a set of diode-laser
experiments here at Calvin. This was a perfect venture for someone with David’s knack for
building scientific instruments. In the course of building his own homemade systems, he
published several “how-to” articles that would soon become “go-to” articles for laser
novices. His contributions were so significant that both the National Science Foundation
and Argonne National Laboratory gave him grants for running summer workshops where
dozens of physics faculty from across the country would learn how to use the new
technology.
Mind you, while diode lasers have been a central component in David’s work, they have
not come close to exhausting his attention, creativity, or energy. He has also found time to
develop a dizzying array of other college-level experiments. In most of these projects David
has introduced significant technical innovations that have helped reinvigorate the teaching
of physics concepts in classrooms and laboratories. This kind of influence has been
amplified in the past few years by David’s fruitful collaboration with TeachSpin, a company
in Buffalo NY that builds equipment for upper-level college physics labs. David has been the
lead developer on several TeachSpin instruments; and some of these have become “best
sellers” worldwide, with teachers at major universities adopting them with great
enthusiasm.
In all I’ve said so far, I still have not conveyed the depth and breadth of David’s
encyclopedic knowledge, nor the tireless spirit of service that characterizes his professional
activity. He is a true generalist—someone who could work easily and productively in any
field and has to choose which of his many interests to pursue. In day-to-day conversations,
whether the topic is machine shop techniques, recreational mathematics, or world history,
David is always willing to share his knowledge with students and colleagues. It is not an
exaggeration to say that, in the days before people could Google for answers to all questions,
we at Calvin College had access to an efficient “search engine” of our own. When everyone
else had no choice but to dig through the stacks of their library, we could go first to David.
Learning from him is always a memorable experience. I think that’s because he is driven by
twin motivations: to experience the joy of witnessing and understanding the wonders of the
world, and to share that joy with others.
Well, David, thank you letting us rejoice with you today. Congratulations.
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