Interim dean of NSM named; Robert Hallock fills post held by Slakey

by Daniel J. Fitzgibbons, Chronicle staff

Robert Hallock

hysics professor Robert Hallock has been named interim dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, effective Sept. 1. Hallock fills the vacancy created earlier this summer when dean Linda Slakey was appointed interim dean of Commonwealth College.

     Cora B. Marrett, senior vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and provost, said Hallock's appointment is for one year.

     "Bob Hallock has a wealth of experience, demonstrated leadership abilities, and an unwavering dedication to the University of Massachusetts," says Marrett. "He is an outstanding researcher and teacher, and I am confident he will guide the College to new frontiers."

      The appointment was also praised by Chancellor David K. Scott, who said, "Dr. Hallock will provide outstanding vision and leadership for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, building on the excellent directions set by dean Slakey.

     "Bob Hallock is a world-class scholar who cares deeply about the future of the University and all of the people in it."

     Hallock has achieved widespread recognition on campus as a 1998 recipient of a Distinguished Teaching Award, and a Distinguished Faculty Research Fellowship, in 1993. The previous year, he was presented with the Chancellor's Medal for his Distinguished Faculty Lecture titled, "Mysteries and Magic Near the Absolute Zero of Temperature." The Chancellor's Medal is the highest honor bestowed on individuals for outstanding service to the campus.

     Hallock's research interest is experimental condensed matter physics, or the study of physical properties of certain types of materials. The author of many research and scholarly publications, he is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. He has been named a Woodrow Wilson and a Sloan Fellow, and in 1992 he also received a Guggenhein Fellowship.

     He joined the faculty in 1970, and served as head of the Department of Physics and Astronomy from 1985-93.

     Hallock received his bachelor's degree from the University in 1965, and earned his master's and doctoral degrees from Stanford University in 1967 and 1969, respectively.

     The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics includes the Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geosciences, Mathematics and Statistics, Physics, Astronomy, Polymer Science and Engineering, and Five College Astronomy departments, and the Biotechnology Program.