Q. Charles Su
Professor of Physics Q. Charles Su has been appointed as a Distinguished Professor at Illinois State University. The honor will be awarded at the Founders Day Convocation at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 18.
The Distinguished Professor designation honors faculty who have achieved national recognition for scholarly research or leadership; been clearly identified by students, colleagues, or external agencies as an outstanding teacher; and have contributed significant public service within the academic discipline. Distinguished Professors are invited to deliver a public lecture or presentation, receive $1,000, and hold the title throughout their service to Illinois State.
Su began his career in Illinois State’s Department of Physics in 1994 and became a full professor in 2002. He has been recognized numerous times during his tenure at Illinois State, both for teaching and research, receiving the Teaching Initiative Award in 1998, the Outstanding College Research Award in 2002, and the Outstanding University Researcher Award in 2003. He has also been a College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Lecturer and is a Million Dollar Club inductee. In 2011, he was named as a University Professor. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2012. In 2006, he and Distinguished Professor of Physics Rainer Grobe shared the Undergraduate Research Prize presented by the American Physics Society.
Su has pioneered the numerical approach to study how particles interact with very intense laser fields. The model 1D atom that he invented with his colleagues has now been copied by hundreds of groups worldwide and his work on this subject alone has been cited by others more than 1,000 times. His research includes the discovery of the atomic stabilization phenomenon during photo-ionization of atoms, discovery of the cycloatom states, creation of computational quantum field theory, the investigation of particle creation, localization, and the resolution of the so-called Klein paradox.
Su has been an invited presenter at more than 50 international conferences in more than 19 countries. He has published more than 150 research articles and his research program has received over $2.4 million in external grants.
Su’s focus on undergraduate research has made an incredible impact. He has supervised more than 60 undergraduate students who have produced over 300 conference presentations and 66 co-authored publications. His students have won numerous national awards and have been accepted into top-ranked graduate programs. In the classroom, Su has taught at every level, from introductory general education courses to senior level, advanced physics courses.
Find out more about the Founders Day celebration.
