Dear Colleagues,  

It is with great pleasure that I announce Dr. Joshua Colwell has accepted my offer to serve as the Chair of the Department of Physics, beginning May 28, 2021. Dr. Colwell, Pegasus Professor of Physics, received his B.S. in Physics from Stetson University and a Ph.D. in Astrophysical, Planetary and Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He joined UCF in 2006 as an Assistant Professor and rose through the ranks to be named Pegasus Professor in 2019. Dr. Colwell’s research focuses on the origin and evolution of the solar system and in particular small bodies such as planetary rings, asteroids, comets, dust, and small moons. He is a Co-Investigator on the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) on the Cassini spacecraft and Dr. Colwell is also the Director of the Center for Microgravity Research in the Department of Physics. Dr. Colwell has published 112 journal articles and has received research grants totaling over $6.7m as PI. In addition to several professional accolades, Dr. Colwell’s research has been recognized with two Research Incentive Awards, and the UCF Luminary Award. He has also received two Teaching Incentive Awards, an Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, a UCF Undergraduate Mentor of the Year award, a UCF Excellence in Mentoring Doctoral Students award, and the UCF SGA Lifesaver award. Dr. Colwell’s leadership roles include serving as the Associate Chair of Physics for 10 years, and as the Assistant Director of the Florida Space Institute for 10 years.   

I would also like to give my sincere thanks to Dr. Eduardo Mucciolo who has led the Department of Physics as Chair for the past five years.  During his tenure as Chair, Dr. Mucciolo hired 6 new faculty, mentored 17 tenure-track faculty who were awarded 8 early career awards (a record number), 7 faculty were tenured and promoted, and he successfully nominated several faculty members for awards and professorships such as the Pegasus Professorship, Luminary awards, and Reach for the Stars award. Over the past five years, the department saw a three-fold increase in the amount of new external funding brought by faculty every year. Dr. Mucciolo also hired 5 staff members and reorganized the department’s administrative structure to improve workflow and services to the faculty and students. Dr. Mucciolo fostered several diversity and inclusivity initiatives, including bringing the APS Committee on the Status of Women in Physics to campus and implementing their recommendations, and co-organizing two national meetings on campus to foster a stronger participation of underrepresented student populations in physics and other STEM areas.  

Under Dr. Mucciolo’s leadership, the department’s undergraduate program increased enrollment by more than 50%, and the number of degrees conferred was doubled. Program changes included curriculum alignment, increasing electives in both the Physics B.S. and B.A. programs, initiation of curricular reforms in the lower-level introductory physics courses to including the redesign of laboratory courses, splitting lectures from labs, and adopting free/open textbooks. Majors also benefitted substantially from the implementation of the undergraduate mentoring program.  Dr. Mucciolo also worked closely with the college to address waitlist issues that affected students across the university by increasing seats in gateway lower- and upper-level courses.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Colwell to his new role, and thanking Dr. Mucciolo for his dedicated service as Department Chair.

Best,