Homer Neal

{{Infobox scientist

| name = Homer Alfred Neal

| image = Homer Neal at Physics Today Roundtable.jpg

| caption = Neal at the Physics Today roundtable, November 1991

| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|6|13|mf=y}}

| birth_place = Franklin, Kentucky, US

| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|5|23|1942|6|16|mf=y}}

| death_place =

| children =

| spouse =

| residence =

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| fields = Nuclear physics

| workplaces = {{ plainlist |

}}

| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|

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| doctoral_advisor = Michael J. Longo

| thesis_title = The polarization parameter in elastic proton-proton scattering from .75 to 2.84 GeV.

| thesis_url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302176972/

| thesis_year = 1966

| academic_advisors =

| notable_students = Marjorie Corcoran

| known_for =

| awards = {{Plainlist|

Sloan Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship (1980)
Edward A. Bouchet Award (2003)

}}

{{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes

| title = Interim President of the
University of Michigan

| term_start = 1996

| term_end = 1996

| predecessor= James J. Duderstadt

| successor = Lee C. Bollinger

}}

Homer Alfred Neal (June 13, 1942 – May 23, 2018{{cite web|title=Obituary: Homer Neal {{!}} U-M LSA Physics|url=https://lsa.umich.edu/physics/news-events/all-news/search-news/obituary--homer-neal.html|website=lsa.umich.edu|access-date=28 May 2018|language=en}}) was an American particle physicist and a distinguished professor at the University of Michigan.{{Cite report |author1=U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Atomic Energy |author2=U.S. Atomic Energy Commission |date=1972 |title=Hearings and Reports on Atomic Energy |volume=158 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-cWAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Neal,+Homer+Alfred%22+1942 |publisher=U.S. GPO |page=1,486 |access-date=December 28, 2015}} Neal was president of the American Physical Society in 2016. He was also a board member of Ford Motor Company, a council member of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and a director of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation. Neal was the interim President of the University of Michigan in 1996.{{cite web|url=https://bentley.umich.edu/research/um/umpresid.php|title=Presidents of the University of Michigan|work=University of Michigan|publisher=Bentley Historical Library|access-date=24 January 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202131332/http://bentley.umich.edu/research/um/umpresid.php|archive-date=2 February 2014}} Neal's research group works as part of the ATLAS experiment hosted at CERN in Geneva.

Biography

Neal grew up an African-American in highly segregated Franklin, Kentucky, and was forced by his neighbors there to break off relations with a white friend with whom he had bonded over a shared interest in ham radio.{{cite web|url=https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201602/homer-neal.cfm|title=2016 APS President - Homer Neal |publisher=American Physical Society|access-date=13 June 2018}} He received his B.S. in physics from Indiana University Bloomington in 1961, and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1966. From 1976 to 1981, Neal was Dean for Research and Graduate Development at Indiana University, and from 1981 to 1986 he was provost at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.{{cite web|url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/prizerecipient.cfm?last_nm=Neal&first_nm=Homer&year=2003|title=2003 Edward A. Bouchet Award Recipient|publisher=American Physical Society|access-date=24 January 2014}}

Neal served as a Regent for the Smithsonian Institution from 1989 to 2001.{{cite web|url=https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_11202|title=Neal, Homer Alfred (06/13/1942-)|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=9 June 2020}} He served for 18 years on the board of directors of Ford Motor Company, from 1997 to 2014.{{cite web|url=https://media.ford.com/content/fordmedia/fna/us/en/news/2014/12/12/ford-names-william-e-kennard-to-board-of-directors.html|title=Ford Names William E. Kennard to Board of Directors; Homer Neal Elects to Leave After 18 Years of Service|publisher=Ford Motor Company|access-date=9 June 2020}} Neal also served as a director for the Richard Lounsbery Foundation for 13 years.{{cite web|

url=https://www.rlounsbery.org/post/remembering-homer-neal-1942-2018|title=Remembering Homer Neal, 1942-2018|date=10 June 2018 |publisher=Richard Lounsbery Foundation|access-date=9 June 2020}}

Neal held Honorary Doctorates from Indiana University, Michigan State University, the University of Notre Dame.{{cite web|url=http://www.aps.org/about/governance/election/neal.cfm |title=Homer A. Neal, Biographical Summary |publisher=American Physical Society |access-date=7 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414170441/http://www.aps.org/about/governance/election/neal.cfm |archive-date=14 April 2016}}

On 14 Nov 2009, Dr. Neal described the discoveries of spin at the University of Michigan (UM) with a presentation: [http://leccap.engin.umich.edu/leccap/viewer/r/aHiSUL History of Spin at Michigan].

Professor Neal died on May 23, 2018, at the age of 75.{{cite web|title=Obituary: Dr. Homer Neal {{!}} Nie Family Funeral Home|url=http://www.niefuneralhomes.com/obituaries/Homer-Neal-3/#!/Obituary|access-date=31 May 2018|language=en}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/08/obituaries/homer-neal-dies-at-75-physicist-worked-on-higgs-boson.html|title=Homer A. Neal, Leader in Physics Who Explored Matter, Dies at 75|newspaper=New York Times|access-date=13 June 2018|date=2018-06-08|last1=Weintraub|first1=Karen}}

On 14 April 2023, Professor Neal was honored by the UM dedicating the Homer A. Neal Laboratory to him. The Neal Laboratory is the first academic building on Central Campus to be named after a Black member of the UM community.{{Cite web|url=https://record.umich.edu/articles/homer-a-neal-laboratory-dedication/|title=Homer A. Neal Laboratory dedication | The University Record|website=record.umich.edu|accessdate=8 May 2023}}

Science policy

Homer Neal was a notable figure in U.S. science policy. From 1980 to 1986, Neal served as a member of the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation, the federal agency responsible for the funding of basic research.{{cite web|title=Former National Science Board Members|url=https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/members/former.jsp|website=nsf.gov|publisher=National Science Foundation|access-date=6 August 2015}} While on the National Science Board he chaired the committee that produced the board's first comprehensive report on undergraduate science education. He has also served as chairman of the physics advisory committee of the National Science Foundation. Over the course of his career, Neal has delivered testimony on numerous occasions to Congress.

Neal also served as regent of the Smithsonian Institution and on numerous advisory committees for science, research and policy organizations including Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, the board of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Fermilab, and others. He served as a member of the National Research Council Board on Physics and Astronomy and as a member of the American Physical Society (APS)'s Panel on Public Affairs. He was a recipient of the Society's Bouchet Award. He was an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences{{Cite web | url=https://www.aps.org/about/governance/election/neal.cfm | title=Homer A. Neal}}

In 2013, Neal was elected to be the vice-president of the American Physical Society, an association representing over 51,000 physicists in academia, national labs, and industry in the United States and worldwide. In 2015, he served as President-Elect and served as President of the APS in 2016.{{cite web|title=APS Members Elect Homer Neal to Presidential Line|url=http://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/201308/nealpreselect.cfm|website=aps.org|publisher=American Physical Society|access-date=6 August 2015}} Homer Neal was a co-author of Beyond Sputnik: U.S. Science Policy in the 21st Century, a popular textbook and website on science policy. He served on the Advisory Board of the Journal of Science Policy & Governance.{{Cite web | url=http://www.sciencepolicyjournal.org/advisory-board.html |title = JSPG Advisory Board}}

In Apr 2014, colleagues and friends from around the world gathered at UM in Ann Arbor for a Homer Neal Symposium to honor Dr. Neal. The sessions focused on Neal's experiments at Brookhaven, Argonne, SLAC, Fermilab, and CERN, as well as his contributions to the US government as a member of the National Science Board, and to the Smithsonian Institution as a regent. At the Symposium, he noted Emil Konopinski had advised him go to graduate school at UM.https://leccap.engin.umich.edu/leccap/player/r/vUlQso |time stamp 26:00