Umesh Garg Receives Terrence Akai Award

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.

3/10/2010