Lillian C. McDermott
77
History
3/15/10
occasion.
In addition to universities in Australia and New Zealand, I have been an invited speaker
at conferences in other countries across the Pacific, including China, India, Japan, Korea,
Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand. With others in our
group, I have traveled to Singapore almost annually since 2004.
The Ministry of Education
(MOE) and the National Institute of Education (NIE) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU)
have asked us to prepare teachers at all levels to teach by inquiry and to help faculty begin to
conduct research in physics education.
MOE and NIE regularly send staff members, K-12
teachers, and university faculty to our Summer Institutes.
In addition to classroom teachers who
have come to our Summer Institutes, the visitors have included See Kit Foong, Chor Yam Lau,
Paul Lee, Chew Leng Poon, and Darren Wong.
I enjoyed and learned much from the overseas conferences that I have attended.
A few
stand out in my memory because of certain personal experiences associated with them.
The 1979
GIREP Conference, which was followed by my family’s trip to Greece, established a precedent for
my professional trips abroad.
Whenever possible, Mark would meet me afterwards and we would
travel together in the surrounding area.
My work with underprepared students led to my first invitation to South Africa.
In 1986
the USAID (United States Agency for International Development) made it possible for me to
spend three inspiring weeks at the University of the Western Cape with faculty dedicated to
preparing “colored” students to succeed in scientific and technical fields. Afterwards, Mark joined
me on visits to other universities and on an unforgettable trip to Kruger National Park.
Fond
memories of South Africa returned in 2008 when I spoke at the annual meeting of the South
African Institute of Physics (SAIP) at Limpopo and also gave a talk at the University of Pretoria.
Two of my trips to give talks in Asia provided an opportunity for Mark and me to visit
Melanie (1989) and Connie (1994) during their service in the U.S. Peace Corps.
I especially
remember a feast in our honor in Kakilingan (a small village in San Marcelino, Zambales) near
Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines, where Melanie was posted.
The dinner included local delicacies
that are unknown to most Americans (
e.g.
, sautéed beetles), which Mark gamely ate but which I
was too squeamish to try.
Another special memory was a side trip to Nepal to visit Connie in
Barkhola (a small village in the Syangja District).
During a hike in the Himalayas, Mark suddenly
became ill from the altitude.
Kind villagers took us in and cured him with garlic soup.
The three
of us later traveled to Tibet, to which Mark and I would never have gone had we not visited
Connie at her post.
I also especially remember the trip to Papua New Guinea (PNG). Mark and I had both
been invited to give talks at the University of PNG.
Our visit was slightly marred by an accident
Lillian C. McDermott
78
History
3/15/10
that occurred when I slipped on a wet rock while hiking in the rain and broke my right wrist.
I
remember the bumpy ride in a jeep to the village hospital, where the resident surgeon and Mark
pulled on my hand and arm to set the cast.
The conditions in the hospital were primitive but I was
very well treated.
Our attempt to pay was refused with the statement that medical treatment was
free for everyone in the country.
(We contributed to the hospital after we got home.)
A few days
later, I had recovered sufficiently to be able to present a “single-handed” Colloquium at the
University of Sydney in Australia and also to attend an opera in the very beautiful Sydney Opera
House.)
When we returned to the U.S., my wrist was examined by a UW orthopedic surgeon, who
was impressed with how well the bones had been set.
He decided, however, to re-break my wrist
and repair it more precisely.
I recovered with no lingering defects from the accident.
My third trip to Israel was in 2001 when I was invited to the Weizmann Institute to
participate in the formal recognition of Uri Ganiel’s retirement.
Mark and I celebrated the event
along with Dalia (Uri’s wife), his Israeli colleagues, and his other friends from the international
physics community.
The joviality was short-lived, however.
I shall never forget the moment
when Mark came into our Guest House room to report that two planes had hit the Twin Towers of
the World Trade Center and that another had crashed in Pennsylvania.
Besides being horrified,
I
had an additional worry because I knew that Melanie was due to fly between California and New
Jersey at about this time.
Focusing on physics during my talk helped me maintain my composure.
Joan telephoned that evening to say that she had checked on my children, as well as her own, and
learned that Melanie was safe.
Early next day, Mark and I left on the first El Al flight out of Israel
for a vacation in Turkey that was not as carefree as we had expected.
In 2003 I was invited by Bob Lambourne to give a series of lectures at the British Institute
of Physics and at several English and Scottish universities. I was warmly welcomed everywhere
and greatly enjoyed the experience.
Afterwards, Mark and I had planned a brief tour of Ireland.
The invasion of Iraq, however, dampened our enthusiasm and we canceled the trip. Five years
later, my visit to Ireland to give a talk at Dublin City University coincided with Connie’s presence
as a consultant on the conservation of forest resources.
I enjoyed our time traveling together but,
like other overseas trips that I had hoped to take with Mark, there was a bittersweet element.
Appendix C:
Commentary on the Physics/Astronomy Building
In the years since 1994 when our Department moved into the new Physics/Astronomy
Building, our pleasant, contiguous space (classroom-labs and offices) has contributed significantly
to the collegiality of our group.
The history of the building is thus part of the history of our group.
The courtyard in front of the Physics/Astronomy Building has been formally named the
Mark N. McDermott Plaza.
On the ground in the main entryway is a bronze spindle whorl
