Physicist’s gift establishes NW scholarship

NORTHWEST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
A financial commitment by John Shaw, professor emeritus of physics, is being used to establish a physics and nanophysics scholarship at Northwest Missouri State University. Shaw said he wanted to create an academic prize that would help both recruit freshmen seeking to study physics and reward continuing students in the field.

MARYVILLE, Mo. — Northwest Missouri State University and the Northwest Foundation have announced that Professor Emeritus John Shaw, who retired in June, will donate $2,000 annually toward a scholarship for students majoring in physics and nanophysics.

“I taught physics at Northwest for 28 years,” Shaw said. “The physics programs are being brought back to Northwest, and I wanted to help attract students to physics by establishing a scholarship that could be used both to recruit freshmen and reward continuing students.”

Shaw joined the Northwest faculty in 1988 and taught courses in physics, astronomy, electronics, and quantum mechanics. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in physics from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Ph.D. in physics from Purdue University.

Since retiring, Shaw has divided his time between traveling across the United States and conducting research with Northwest Associate Professor of Physics Himadri Chakraborty.

Shaw said he misses working with students and wanted to do something to support young people pursuing careers in science.

“Teaching is what I really enjoy,” he said. “Certainly, I still have relationships with the faculty I worked with, and those relationships I maintain, but (the people) I don’t see anymore are the students.”

Students seeking a Shaw Scholarship should complete a standardized scholarship application and check out the scholarships link on the Office of Financial Assistance website.

“I believe scholarships are even more important today given that the state provides only 30 percent of the cost of educating a college student in Missouri compared to 60 percent when I was a student,” Shaw said.

“I hope this provides the recipients with some financial help as well as recognition for their academic abilities.”

For more information about the Shaw Scholarship and the Northwest Foundation, or to make a gift in support of scholarships for Northwest students, call the Office of University Advancement at 660-562-1248 or go to www.nwmissouri.edu/giveonline.