Carol Thompson

Professional activities

Thompson has experience in a variety of leadership and service roles. She has extensive experience serving on a variety of University committees that deal with personnel and program policy and assessment issues at the university, college, and department level. She is currently a member of the Materials Research Society, the Electrochemical Society, the American Physical Society. She was president (1993-94) of the Materials Science Club of New York, a professional society established in 1947 of materials scientists from industrial and government laboratories, universities, and consulting firms in the New Jersey and New York area. She organized the symposium, Materials in Transition: Insights from Synchrotron and Neutron Sources" at the Fall 2007 Materials Research Society meeting in Boston; Thompson was elected 2005-06 Chair of the 12 member steering committee of the Advanced Photon Source Users Organization (APSUO)) which represents the over 4000 users of the APS whose programs cover all areas of physical sciences, life sciences, and technology. She was program chair of the 14th Users meeting (2005) of the Advanced Photon Source.

Thompson’s research been based at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory and at the Center for Nanoscale Materials at Argonne. The high brilliance of the x-rays at synchrotrons provides unique access to techniques that study fundamental structure-property questions in materials physics. Her access to this facilities is as a general user through their peer reviewed proposal process. Unique to her current programs is the access to a specially constructed chamber for materials synthesis at the Advanced Photon Source designed and operated by her collaborators and her group. It allows in situ x-ray characterization techniques to be performed simultaneously during the growth of layers of atoms onto a substrate, and the ability to study structure at the nanoscale. This particular chamber is capable of organo-metallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE) in oxide and nitride systems.

Selected committee and professional service activities

Community Standards and Student Conduct Advisory Board (2010-2013): Board members are appointed and serve to advise the the Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct (formerly the Judicial Affairs). Representative overview body reviewing and recommending alterations and clarifications to the written Student Code of Conduct as consistent with our educational goals and policies as an institution. Requests for changes may come in response to concerns and questions brought up by members of the University community, or by requirements communicated to the university by state and federal guidelines.
University Council and Faculty Senate (2007-2010): University Council is elected position with representation determined by college, and by election to University Council. Among other advisory roles, the University council is the body that considers changes or amendments to over university bylaws in NIU's shared governance structure. (http://www.niu.edu/u council/index.shtml ). In 2008, she was chair of the committee evaluating the performance of the President of the Faculty Senate/Executive Secretary of the University Council. In 2009-10, she was Chair of the University Council Subcommittee on University Affairs. In 2009-10, the issues referred to this subcommittee from the UC included questions and concerns brought forward on the university policy on nepotism, and on establishing a collegiality policy.

University Council Personnel Committee (2002-03, 2007-08): University level committee with responsibility for the appeals and reconsiderations from faculty on personnel issues (tenure and promotion) from all colleges.

University Class II Judicial Board (2005-2008): Board members serve on panels to hear student appeals on university disciplinary sanctions on their case involving student academic or non-academic misconduct.

Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), Physical and Life Science Panel (Illinois Community College Board) (1999-present) and the Physics Major Panel (2011-present): Thompson is NIU University representative on this panel responsible for policy on general education courses under the statewide integrated articulation program and advise the IAI steering committee on policy. The committee also has responsibility to review and approve community and university courses submitted to to the IAI.

Responsible Conduct of Scholarship Committee (2004-2007): NIU RCS committee, chaired by vice president for research, promotes university wide awareness and dialogue of complex ethical and related dilemmas that can occur in the scholarship process.

Homeland Security Certificate of Study Panel (2005-2008): Participated in university panel that prepared undergraduate and graduate Certicate program in Homeland Security. Program is interdisciplinary between colleges.

Academic Planning Council (APC) (2002-2006): All academic units at NIU undergo an Illinois state-mandated program review on an 8 year cycle. The APC is the NIU body who performs the self-study reviews for this review cycle. It also advises the provost on academic affairs. She also served as the APC representative to the University Assessment Panel (UAP) 2002-2006. This committee reviews and approves the required assessment programs from each program and updates the university assessment plan.

Board of Governors of the Consortium for Advanced Radiation Sources (1999-2002): NIU representative (voting member of board.) Consortium members are: Northern Illinois University, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Illinois Institute of Technology, Southern Illinois University, University of Illinois, and the Australian National Science and Technology Organization.

Within physics department she serves as the undergraduate curriculum committee (chair 2009-present), Undergraduate advisor (2010-present), and has also served at various times on the merit evaluation committee and, faculty search committees and elected several times to the department executive committee.

Carol Thompson

Carol Thompson

Professor of physics at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL -  2001-present

Resident associate (i.e., frequent visiting scientist) at Materials Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory - 1995-present

Argonne National Laboratory and Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne (sabbatical leave) - 2008-09

Associate professor of physics at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL - 1995-2001

Assistant professor of physics at Polytechnic University, Brooklyn, NY - 1989-1995

Navy-ASEE Faculty fellow, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC - Summer 1994

Postdoc at IBM T.J. Watson Research Laboratory in the Physical Sciences, Yorktown Heights, NY - 1987-1989

Ph.D Physics, University of Houston, Houston, TX - 1987

M.S. Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA - 1980

B.S. Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA - 1978

Contact Info

LaTourette Hall 207
Department of Physics
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115 USA

Phone: 815-753-1772
Fax: 815-753-8565
cthompson@niu.edu

Argonne Phone:
630-252-7378