Tim Chupp, Professor of physics, LSA

Chupp, a particle physicist specializing in precision measurement, optical pumping and nuclear polarization techniques, has engaged thousands of science enthusiasts of all ages in the joy and intrigue of scientific research and its impact through Saturday Morning Physics. Chupp earned his Ph.D. in physics at the University of Washington in 1983 and joined U-M in 1991. A world-class researcher and instructor, he has led U-M’s Saturday Morning Physics — family-friendly lessons held during the academic year — for much of its 25 years. His passion has brought science and its relation to technology, everyday life, public policy and art to the broadest segments of society. An estimated 300 people attend each week, and hundreds more participate via livestream. He serves as a science communication fellow for U-M’s Natural History Museum and as a public engagement faculty fellow, coordinating outreach efforts including Physics Van, a project underway to take science, technology, engineering and math lessons to underserved communities in southeast Michigan.

Mary Jo Kietzman, Associate professor of English, UM-Flint

Kietzman, an early-modern literature scholar, adapted the Great Depression-era Federal Writers Project for the Saginaw River Valley and Thumb, organizing current and former students in a writing project that fosters experiential learning and will result in a multifaceted regional guide. Kietzman earned her Ph.D. in English at Boston College in 1993 and joined UM-Flint in 1996. She engages students living in Flint by approaching the study of literature as a playing field for working through real-world problems and creating an inclusive communal identity. Her students learn to express themselves and use their experiences to create literary works of art. The writer’s project was born of her belief that encouraging her students to value and take pride in their experiences would be profoundly empowering. She secured a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council to pay stipends for contributions to the multiyear project. Together, students discovered and described the beauty of a region hidden in the ruins of abandoned industries and the recent water crisis.

The 2024 awardee information (above) was written and provided by the Office of University Development, as published in a 2024 University Record article.