Homer Neal was one of the IU Physics Department’s most distinguished alumni, and he was later also a dynamic faculty member at IU, who was instrumental in establishing a research effort in experimental particle physics in the department, making important contributions to studies with polarized proton beams in experiments at SLAC and Fermilab. At IU he rose to serve as IU’s Dean of Research and Graduate Development and later moved to be Provost at Stony Brook, and eventually he moved to the University of Michigan to be the Samuel Goudsmit Distinguished Professor and Chair of Physics, and eventually VP for Research, and interim President. Nationally, he was elected to be the first African American president of the APS and served as a member of National Science Board for six years. He also served on the Physics and Astronomy board of the National Research Council as well as the boards of Ford Motor Company, the National Museum of African American History. For this year’s awards colloquium, we are delighted to provide a summary of our former colleague’s remarkable and very diversified career.
The College of Arts