Gerard Crawley, former chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy, and his wife, Margaret, have established a $200,000 fund to create an endowed internship at MSU.
The award will allow a graduate student in nuclear physics the opportunity to spend time at a university, national laboratory or private company in the United States or overseas that specializes in the development of nuclear energy, enabling him or her to evaluate a possible career path in nuclear energy.
Gerard first came to MSU in 1965 and spent 18 months as a postdoc in the Cyclotron Laboratory—now the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL).
He later returned to MSU as a faculty member and spent 30 years in the NSCL and the physics and astronomy department.
“Margaret and I believe that the urgency of global warming requires us to phase out the use of coal, oil and natural gas as expeditiously as possible,” Gerard said. “To accomplish this, it will be necessary to include nuclear energy, along with renewables like wind and solar. We hope that some of the talented nuclear physics graduate students at the NSCL will work toward solving the current issues of cost, safety and storage connected to nuclear energy.”
Read more about the impact of faculty, staff and retiring giving at Our Impact.
LEARN MORE about supporting students in the College of Natural Science by contacting Senior Director of Development Corey Longley-Palmer at longleyc@msu.edu or by calling 517-353-1637.