Homer Levi Dodge was the Chair of the Department of Physics, Dean of the Graduate school, and founder of the Oklahoma Research Institute, at the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

and President of

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

. In 1919 Dodge became chairman of the Physics Department at the

, and in 1926 he became dean of the graduate school. He was president of the Board of Trustees for the School of Religion from 1927 to 1944. At the December 1930 meeting of the

American Physical Society The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of k ...

, Dodge helped to organize the

American Association of Physics Teachers The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) was founded in 1930 for the purpose of "dissemination of knowledge of physics, particularly by way of teaching." There are more than 10,000 members in over 30 countries. AAPT publications includ ...

(AAPT). He was elected the first President of the AAPT. In 1941, he organized the

Oklahoma Research Institute Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

and became its first director. From 1942 to 1944, he took a leave of absence from the University of Oklahoma to serve as director of the Office of Scientific Personnel of the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

. Homer Dodge stopped by Omaha when he was heading to the west for vacation in 1956 to invest with young Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett was young, but he looked even younger. So, many investors didn't want to give serious money to Warren. However, Homer trusted the analytical mind of Warren Buffett and wanted to put in $120,000 in Buffett Associates. The only problem was Buffett Associates was for "family members or close friends only," Homer and Warren Buffett set up a separate partnership. Homer Dodge was worth tens of millions when he died in 1983, thanks to his early trust in Warren Buffett. His son

Norton Dodge Norton Townshend Dodge (June 15, 1927 – November 5, 2011) was an American economist and educator who amassed one of the largest collections of Soviet-era art outside the Soviet Union. Education and teaching A native Oklahoman named for his ...

was an economist and prominent art collector who purchased the

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

estate in Maryland.

References

Sources

Homer L Dodge biography
at the

President of Norwich University, 1945-1950.

External links

Oral history interview transcript with Homer Dodge on 23 January 1963, American Institute of Physics, Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Archival collections

Homer L. Dodge papers, 1852-1994 (bulk 1910-1960), Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Homer L. Dodge addition to papers, 1905-1994, Niels Bohr Library & Archives
University of Oklahoma faculty 1887 births 1983 deaths Presidents of the American Association of Physics Teachers {{Oklahoma-university-stub