Skip to main content

2014 Distinguished Physics Alumnus of the Year: Dr. Christopher Goodin

Dr. Christopher Goodin graduated from Mississippi College with a double major in Physics and Mathematics and is also a Ph.D. graduate of Vanderbilt University. While at Vanderbilt, Dr. Goodin was awarded the Lagemann Award for Outstanding First Year Graduate Student. His dissertation was on Angular Correlations of Prompt Gamma-Rays from the Spontaneous Fission of 252Cf.  He is a native of Vicksburg, MS and is currently employed in the Geotechnical and Structures Lab at the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). His primary duties there include writing simulations of sensors, environmental processes such as radiative transfer, and vehicle simulations. He is currently leading a team that is developing high-fidelity simulations of vehicle-mounted sensor systems. Dr. Goodin married another Mississippi College alumnus, Mrs. Katy Chisolm Goodin, and they have two children, Joshua and Laura. Dr. Goodin has been honored with numerous awards during his career, including the Department of the Army Achievement Award for Civilian Service in 2011, the ERDC R&D award in 2012, the Department of the Army Commander’s Award for Civilian Service in 2013, and the Army Modeling and Simulation Award for Analysis, also in 2013. We are delighted to help Dr. Goodin continue his award winning streak by announcing him as the 2014 Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in Physics.

2013 Distinguished Physics Alumnus of the Year: Randy Tullos

Randy Tullos is a managing partner with Goldrush Holdings, LLC, in Gatlinburg,Tennessee. He directs all day-to-day business functions for the management company, providing strategy, development, and implementation of real estate-focused projects in the non-profit sector. Randy is an expert in balancing business, technology, and customer needs to help companies improve their performances and their bottom lines. He was previously president of TaxWise, Inc. and SecureTax.com, both based in Rome, Georgia. Under his leadership, SecureTax marketed the first Internet application that enabled customers to prepare and electronically file their tax returns. His diverse career history also includes service as a senior research engineer with Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, and as a mechanical engineer with the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Dahlgren, Virginia. Randy is a summa cum laude graduate of the Mississippi College School of Physics, and holds a master’s degree in engineering mechanics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

2010 Distinguished Physics Alumnus of the Year: Dr. Joseph Hamilton

Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Hamilton, the 2010 Distinguished Physics Alumnus of the Year. Dr. Hamilton is the Landon C. Garland Distinguished Professor of Physics at Vanderbilt University and just recently took part in the discovery of Element 117. Dr. Hamilton has published more than 950 papers and articles on nuclear physics worldwide, as well as additional articles on general scientific topics and teaching physics. He is the co-author of 14 research books, an undergraduate physics textbook, and How Things Work, a book for middle and high school students released by National Geographic. Dr. Hamilton has delivered nearly 500 lectures and talks and has been featured at research seminars at universities and international research conferences worldwide. He has served as a visiting professor or adjunct professor at universities in Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, China, and France. Dr. Hamilton has directed the postdoctoral training of more than 100 Ph.D. candidates, and for more than 20 years has given lecutres at K-12 schools designed to interest young people in science. Shown below is Dr. Hamilton (center) speaking with MC President Dr. Lee Royce (left) and School of Law Dean Dr. Jim Rosenblatt (right) after a recent lecture given by Dr. Hamilton at the Clinton campus.

2009 Distinguished Physics Alumnus of the Year: Greg Tackett

In 2009, our distinguished physics alumnus was Mr. Greg Tackett. Greg is Director of System Simulation and Development with the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center. He has worked for the Department of Defense since 1982 in the field of modeling and simulation (M&S) and is an international leader in the field both academically and professionally. His additional current positions include service as the U.S. national representative to the NATO Modeling and Simulation Group Panel on Conceptual Modeling for Military M&S; the U.S. Army representative to the International Technical Coordination Panel on network enabled weapon systems; and associate editor for the industry journals Transactions of the Society of Modeling and Simulation International and Journal for Defense Modeling and Simulation. In addition to his B.S. in Physics from MC, Greg completed graduate studies in Computer Science at the University of Alabama. Shown at left below is Greg receiving the award from longtime friend and MC Chemistry professor Dr. David Magers during the 2009 Homecoming Weekend festivities.