Kudos

Gaylen Kapperman, professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning and longtime coordinator of the NIU College of Education’s Programs in Vision, has won the Paul Kersenbrock Humanitarian Award from Doane College.

The annual award is given in memory of Paul Dean Kersenbrock, a member of the Class of 1963. It is presented to a worthy Doane alumnus who, in the judgment of the Alumni Council, distinguishes himself or herself by extraordinary, unselfish dedication and service to others in his/her work and lifestyle.

Kapperman graduated magna cum laude from Doane in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and German and a secondary teaching certificate. He returned to his alma mater in Crete, Neb., during the weekend of May 18 to collect his honor.

Last December, Kapperman was named as a winner of a Centennial Medal from the Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired. One hundred winners were chosen in 2006 to mark the Lighthouse’s 100th year.

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NIU Physics Professor Michel van Veenendaal published a research report recently in Physical Review Letters. It was his third publication in the elite physics journal in a matter of just 13 months.

The most recent publication, with co-author Ian McNulty of the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, predicts the possibility of doing a new type of spectroscopy using shaped X-ray nano-beams.

Van Veenendaal says theory predicts the potential of doing spectroscopy with circular-shaped beams that carry an orbital angular momentum – so the beams, in effect, turn around in space.

Van Veenendaal is a theoretical physicist. He serves as deputy director of the NIU Institute for NanoScience, Engineering and Technology.

6-4-07