Fetish for Physics Forms McNeil's Future

In her office, McNeil is surrounded by things that remind her of these interests. Numerous awards and certificates hang on the walls, testifying to her excellence in both physics and teaching.

Most recently McNeil's zeal was rewarded with a fellowship from the American Physical Society, an honor extended to only one-half of one percent of its 40,000 members. She was awarded the distinction for her work on the status of women in the physics community.

"Women constitute about 6 percent of the physicists in this country, and that's a number that has been rising very slowly," McNeil said. "I have been working with the community to try and enhance women's opportunities ... (for) successful careers in physics."

Fellow professors agree that McNeil is a bright spot in their field.

"Laurie is one of the most reliable and punctual colleagues of mine," said Tom Clegg, a UNC professor of nuclear physics. "She has a strong mix of skills for innovative research, for effective classroom teaching and careful mentoring of her graduate students."

It was for this innovation and effectiveness that McNeil received what she considers her most treasured award -- UNC's Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Professorship, which she held from 1996 to 1999.

In November 2000, she was named the first Kathryn A. McCarthy Lecturer in Physics at Tufts University.

"I always wanted to teach. ... It is exciting to me to watch that light bulb light up in my students," said McNeil, who feels the same enthusiasm for her subject area.

"People go into physics because they can't not do it," she said. "All the physicists I know, and certainly myself included, are excited about getting up in the morning and going to work."

McNeil said she discovered this love in herself at a young age. She knew in junior high that she was headed toward a career in the sciences.

"I always enjoyed my math classes," McNeil said. "But I wanted to be able to use my skills to figure out how the world works, and that's what physics is about."

McNeil continued her studies at Harvard University, where she majored in chemistry and physics. After earning her doctorate, she worked as a researcher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology before moving to North Carolina in 1984 to begin her career as a professor.

At UNC, McNeil focuses her research on the optical spectroscopy of semiconductors and insulators, which she defines as, "basically shining lasers at things and seeing what comes out. It is a basic science ... which someone else can make use of in the industrial world."

In addition to physics and teaching, McNeil's passions include music and knitting.

She pursues the former through participation in the Choral Society of Durham and her collaboration with music Professor Brent Wissick on a first-year seminar about the relationship between music and physics.

McNeil knits all her own sweaters and said she uses the hobby as a diversion during long meetings, seminars and lectures.

"Sometimes you just really don't get much of anything out of (them) ... and I can always tell my colleagues that while you might not have gotten anything out of the lecture, I got two inches."

The Features Editor can be reached at features@unc.edu.