Artist skecth of Doc Morris
Artist sketch of Doc Morris by Courtney Parker.

The SDSU Physics Department presents a FREE public lecture once a year, which is intended to make physics, and science, accessible to a general audience. Please consider making an annual donation to us to support the lecture series.

2023 Academic Year

Title: How the ‘quantumness’ of electrons in materials can lead us to a machine that works like the brain

Date: Friday April 21st, 2022 at 6:30 PM in GMCS-333

Speaker: Dr. Alex Frañó, assistnat professor at UC San Diego

About Professor (Doc) Richard H. Morris

In 2007, the SDSU Department of Physics named it’s Annual Public Lecture the “Doc Morris Public Lecture Series” in honor of it’s most senior faculty member Prof. Richard H. Morris who joined the SDSU Physics faculty over 50 years ago (his original hire date is August 30, 1957). Doc is the longest serving faculty member at SDSU!  And one of the longest serving in the entire California State University system.

Doc Morris received his PhD in Nuclear Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1957. He supervised well over thirty graduate theses and dozens of undergraduate thesis projects in electromagnetism and optics. His PHYS 357 Advanced Physical Measurement class was legendary amongst our graduates.

Doc Morris in the lab.
Honored for Distinguished teaching in 1967-1968 Faculty Awards.

Previous Lectures:

2022 Academic Year

Title: “Invention of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) and a Glimpse of What’s Ahead”

Date: Friday April 22nd, 2022 at 6:30 PM in GMCS-333

Speaker: Dr. Peter Basser, Associate Scientific Director for Imaging and Genomic Integrity within the NICHD IRP

2013 Academic Year

Title:  “The Origin of Heavy Elements: Cauldrons of the Cosmos”

Date:  Friday, April 26th, 2013 at 7:30 PM in GMCS-333

Speaker:  Rachid Ouyed, Physics and Astronomy University of Calgary, Canada

2012 Academic Year

Title:  “What to do with the coldest stuff in the Universe?”

Date:  Friday, May 4th, 2012 at 7:00 PM

Speaker:  Prof. Dan Stamper-Kurn, University of California, Berkeley .

2010 Academic Year

Title:  “Nanoscience; The physics of small things”.

Date:  Tuesday 4th May 2010 at 7:03pm in NE-60

Speaker: Prof. Ivan K. Schuller, Physics Department and Center for Advanced Nanoscience, University of California-San Diego

2009 Academic Year

Title:  “Molecular imaging of the biology of disease with Positron Emission Tomography (PET)”.

Date: Friday 1st May 2009 at 7:00pm in NE-60

Speaker: Prof. Michael Phelps, University of California, Los Angeles

2008 Academic Year

Title:  “Neutrinos: Stealthy Agents of Destruction and Creation in the Cosmos”

Date:  Thursday 8th May 2008 at 7:00pm in GMCS 333

Speaker: Prof. George Fuller, University of California, San Diego

2007 Academic Year

Title:  “The Story of Stopped Light”

Date:  Thursday 12th April 2007 at 7:00pm in GMCS 333

Speaker:  Prof. Ronald Walsworth, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics

Cartoon illustration of Doc Morris
Artists sketch of Doc Morris by Navarro.