The Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography is now home to a new annual lecture and undergraduate scholarship.
A generous donation from Drs. Sethu, Bharati and Suresh Reddy in honour of their parents has led to the endowment of the Dr. and Mrs. Satti Paddi and Parvati Reddy Memorial Scholarship and Lecture.
The scholarship will be awarded annually to a student beyond their first year who is a declared major in the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography. The purpose of the annual lecture is to attract a well-spoken leader in the broadly defined area of physics research or discovery, with a goal of providing wide-reaching benefit to both the general public and the university community.
Professor emeritus
Dr. Reddy, a distinguished resident of Newfoundland and Labrador since 1963, was a professor emeritus and the former head of the Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography. He was known to be an excellent teacher and was especially remembered for his first- and second-year undergraduate teachings.
“I appreciated Dr. Reddy’s thoughtful approach to teaching and the clarity of his lectures very much,” said Dr. Rick Goulding, the academic program officer for the Physics department and a former student in one of Dr. Reddy’s second-year courses.
Student awards
The department presented the first Dr. and Mrs. Satti Paddi and Parvati Reddy Memorial Scholarship to Marisa Dusseault, a second-year physics undergraduate, at a student awards lunch on Dec. 2.
“Receiving this scholarship is such an honour,” said Ms. Dusseault. “It feels amazing to be recognized for working so hard while doing something I am passionate about. I feel very inspired by receiving this scholarship because it shows me my dedication and hard work doesn’t go unnoticed.”
Outstanding physicist
Dr. Reddy was very active in his research field of experimental atomic and molecular spectroscopy. He was a leader in the study of collision-induced absorption in molecules of astrophysical significance and also a dedicated supervisor of many graduate students. In 1972 he was the first physicist from Atlantic Canada to be inducted as Fellow of the Institute of Physics (U.K.) for outstanding contribution to physics.
To honour his research contributions, the department will host an annual lecture in his name, with the first anticipated to take place sometime in spring 2016.
Remarkable citizens
In addition to his passion for research and teaching, Dr. Reddy was a proponent of volunteerism and served in health and educational activities, community and citizenship organizations, and human rights, ethnic diversity, cultural development and national unity associations. He was also a founding member of the Friends of India Association, the Ethno-Cultural Association of Newfoundland and the Chinmaya Mission of St. John’s.
Dr. and Mrs. Reddy have been both recognized by the greater Newfoundland and Labrador community for their volunteerism and community activities. In 2001 A. M. House, then lieutenant-governor of Newfoundland and Labrador, presented the Newfoundland and Labrador Volunteer Medal to Dr. Reddy for 35 years of service.
