Dr. Michael Schulz, professor of physics at the University of Missouri-Rolla, was named Curators’ Professor of physics during UMR commencement ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 17.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators approved the designation at its Oct. 7 meeting at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

The professorship is awarded to outstanding scholars with established reputations in their fields of study. Schulz studies atomic physics with an emphasis on ion-atom collisions. His research is focused on improving the understanding of the many-body problem, one of the unsolved fundamental problems in physics, which is highly relevant in areas well beyond atomic physics.

“I am very pleased that the Board of Curators has selected Dr. Schulz for this high academic honor,” says UMR Chancellor John F. Carney III. “This public recognition of his research accomplishments is richly deserved and brings added prestige to the department of physics and the University of Missouri-Rolla.”

Schulz joined the UMR faculty in 1990 as an assistant professor of physics. In 1996 he was named associate professor of physics and in 2002 was named professor of physics. In 2003, Schulz was named director of the Laboratory for Atomic, Molecular and Optical Research.

His research has been published in numerous journals, including the British journal Nature. Since joining the UMR faculty, Schulz has received Faculty Excellence Awards from UMR. In 2004 he was named fellow of the American Physical Society and received the Mercator Award from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Prior to joining UMR, Schulz was a research associate at Kansas State University from 1989-1990. From 1988-1989 he served as a research associate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and from 1981-1987 as a teaching assistant at Heidelberg University in Germany. From 1998-1999 and again in 2000, Schulz was a visiting professor at Freiburg University in Germany. In 2004, Schulz served as visiting professor at the University of Frankfurt in Germany. He has also served as a guest scientist at numerous international universities.

Schulz holds three degrees in physics from Heidelberg University in Germany, including a Ph.D. earned in 1987.