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2016 Alexander Prize

The Alexander Prize is named for former UT president and now US Senator Lamar Alexander and his wife, Honey. It recognizes superior teaching and distinguished scholarship.

Geoff Greene

Geoff GreeneThis year’s Alexander Prize recognizes the research and teaching of Geoff Greene, professor of experimental neutron physics and ORNL Fundamental Neutron Physics Group leader.

Greene’s scientific program at ORNL’s Fundamental Neutron Physics Beam is focused on the essential questions about the universe’s existence: what happened in the big bang, and why does matter behave in ways that defy understanding? Greene’s experiments test what scientists know about physics and aim to explain the asymmetrical structure of the universe.

He is a member of the Nuclear Science Advisory Committee, tasked with preparing the country for nuclear physics advances in the coming years. This committee advises the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.

For his students, however, his most impressive feat has been taking the challenging senior-level course on quantum mechanics and, with his talent and enthusiasm, making it the most popular course in the department.