Umesh Garg, professor of physics, has received the 2010 Terrence Akai Award for Exceptional Service to International Students from the Department of International Student Services and Activities. The award recognizes a faculty or staff member who exemplifies the qualities for which Terry Akai was known, including enthusiasm, generosity, tolerance, humor, and a commitment to improving the international student experience – both inside and outside the classroom.
Umesh Garg came to the University of Notre Dame in 1982. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society. In 2006, he received a Kaneb Award for Excellence in Teaching and currently serves as director of the Physics REU program. He is also a guest scientist at the Argonne National Laboratory and has been a visiting professor at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, and a visiting scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Bombay, India, and at the Cyclotron Institute at Texas A&M University.
The annual award was initiated to honor the memory of Terrence "Terry" J. Akai, a beloved faculty member, dean, and long-time advocate for international students. Akai became a member of the Notre Dame faculty in 1976 and later served as Senior Associate Dean of the Graduate School from 1994 until his death in 2009.
