Joseph Melvin Reynolds (16 July 1924,

Woodlawn, Tennessee Woodlawn is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Tennessee, Montgomery County, Tennessee. Geography Woodlawn is located along U.S. Route 79 in Tennessee, U.S. Route 79 west of neighboring Clarksville, Tennessee, ...

– 11 June 1997,

Baton Rouge, Louisiana Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it is the parish seat of East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana's most populous parish—the equivalent of counties i ...

) was an American professor of physics and a university administrator. He was a Guggenheim Fellow for the academic year 1958–1959.

Biography

Reynolds attended David Lipscomb College (now

Lipscomb University Lipscomb University is a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It is affiliated with the Churches of Christ. The campus is located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, between Belmont Boulevard to the west and Granny White Pike on ...

) from 1942 to 1944 and then transferred to

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

, where he received a bachelor's degree in 1946. At

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

he graduated with M.S. in 1947 and Ph.D. in physics in 1950. His thesis advisor was Cecil Taverner Lane (1904–1991). As a graduate student, Reynolds also taught for a year at

Connecticut College Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...

. In the physics department of

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

(LSU), he was from 1950 to 1954 an assistant professor, from 1954 to 1958 an assistant professor, from 1958 to 1962 a full professor, and from 1962 to 1965 Boyd Professor. From 1962 to 1965 he was head of the department of physics and astronomy. At LSU he was promoted in 1965 to vice president of graduate studies and research development, in 1968 to vice president of instruction and research, and in 1981 to vice president for academic affairs, holding that position until 1985. In 1957 Reynolds was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society. As a Guggenheim Fellow, he spent the academic year 1958–1959 as a visiting professor at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

's Kamerlingh-Onnes Laboratory. In 1966 he was elected a Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

. He spent a sabbatical year from 1969 to 1970 as a visiting scholar at Stanford University. Using what he learned at Stanford, he helped to establish LSU's gravitational radiation detection program. Reynolds helped to formulate U.S. space science policies and their implementations. He helped to initiate the space station's microgravity program and supported the Schiff-Everitt experiment.

Selected publications

* * * *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reynolds, Joseph Melvin 1924 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American physicists Vanderbilt University alumni Yale University alumni Louisiana State University faculty Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellows of the American Physical Society People from Montgomery County, Tennessee Lipscomb University alumni