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Meet Physics Department Alumnus
David Morton, Ph.D.
Stetson Class of 1987
Biography:
David Morton graduated from Stetson University with a B.S. (1987) in Physics and Mathematics and from Stanford University with an M.S. (1990) and Ph.D. (1993) in Operations Research. He worked with the Pacific Gas and Electric Company on developing and implementing special purpose optimization algorithms for solving large- scale stochastic hydroelectric scheduling problems. Prior to joining the Operations Research faculty at the University of Texas at Austin, he spent two years at the Naval Postgraduate School, first as a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow and then as a Visiting Assistant Professor. He is the recipient of the Commemorative Medal of the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics of Charles University, a Fulbright Scholar Award, a National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 1997 Rist Paper Prize, the 1994 George E. Nicholson Paper Prize, and was a finalist for the 1994 George B. Dantzig Dissertation Award.
His research interests are in developing applications, algorithms and theory for solving stochastic optimization models of complex systems that contain significant uncertainties. Solution procedures for such problems involve large-scale optimization techniques, bounding and approximation methods, and Monte Carlo sampling. He has interests in specific applications in water resources, finance, electric power systems, thermal system design, and smuggling interdiction.
March 2003
Open Letter to Stetson Physics Majors:
Last week I had the opportunity to return to Stetson and give an informal talk, over pizza, to current Physics majors at Stetson on “Graduate Studies Opportunities in Engineering.” It was wonderful to meet and talk with some of you, to catch up with Drs. Jusick and Lick, and to meet the new (okay, “new” since I graduated in 1987!) faculty members, Drs. Glander and Riggs.
During my visit I learned about some of the current research going on in physics at Stetson. I was impressed with the recent equipment acquisitions and purchases to support this research. I was especially impressed with the quality of the research and the high level of student participation via the SURE and REU research programs.
I came to Stetson from Columbus, Ohio in 1983 with a desire to enjoy a warmer climate and play more golf. (I played on Stetson’s golf team in my freshman and sophomore years.) However, I remember being drawn in by Dr. Lick’s PS-202 course in my freshman year and then very much enjoying Dr. Jusick’s PS-331/332 sequence as a sophomore. Over a decade later, I bought a new copy of the Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences textbook of Mary Boas as my copy from Stetson was in tatters from excessive use. I spent the summer after my sophomore year at the DOE’s Hanford Site in the state of Washington working on a nuclear physics project. My career as a golfer was over, and my interest in a research-oriented academic career began.
I also studied mathematics at Stetson as a double-major and now feel that the combination of physics and mathematics prepared me very well for a PhD program and research career in which technical (i.e., mathematical) rigor and the ability to figure out the key drivers of a system (regardless of whether the system is mathematical, physical, etc.) are paramount. As physics and mathematics majors at Stetson we derived results from basic principles and definitions, instead of flipping textbook pages in an attempt to find the correct formula to “plug into.” I still remember the day Dr. Lick told me that Newtonian mechanics could be derived from the single underlying principle of least- action (instead of Newton’s three laws) and that the least-action principle plays a central
1 University Station, C Austin, TX 78712- 512-471-4104 (voice) morton@mail.utexas.edu http://www.me.utexas.edu/~orie/Morton.html
