ODU physics professor Dodge receives SCHEV outstanding faculty award

March 03, 2015

Gail Dodge pictured with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe at SCHEV award luncheon in Richmond.

Old Dominion University physicist Gail Dodge was one of 13 faculty members from Virginia colleges and universities to receive a 2015 Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia.

Dodge is the 28th winner of the award from Old Dominion. She recently returned to ODU after spending two years as a program manager at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va. She was in charge of the $17 million experimental nuclear physics program, including coordination with the Office of Nuclear Physics at the Department of Energy.

The statewide awards program, co-sponsored by the Dominion Foundation, is in its 29th year. It honors faculty members for excellence in teaching, research, knowledge integration and public service. Dodge was selected from a pool of 88 educators nominated based on their accomplishments that reflect the missions of their respective institutions.

Dodge received a plaque and a $5,000 check at a luncheon in Richmond in February.

"I am so appreciative of the support I have had from my colleagues at ODU in putting my nomination forward," Dodge said.

Formerly the chair of ODU's physics department, Dodge is known not only for the experiments she conducts at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in Newport News, Va., but also for her inspired teaching and outreach work to make physics an attractive major or career, especially for women and minorities.

"Given the importance of increasing the number of U.S. students pursuing technical careers, we must not accept the status quo in which women and minorities are underrepresented in physics and other STEM fields," Dodge wrote in a personal statement submitted with her Outstanding Faculty Award application.

"For me, that means doing everything I can to mentor and encourage women in physics at ODU, including hosting women in physics dinners and taking an interest in the lives and dreams of all the students. My work as a scientist and teacher is also the work of a citizen who is concerned about helping the United States stay competitive in scientific education and innovation."

Dodge received her B.A. from Princeton University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.