R. Jeffrey Wilkes papers, 1974-2001

R. Jeffrey Wilkes received a BSE(EE) from the University of Michigan in 1967, and a PhD (Particle Physics) from the University of Wisconsin in 1974. He has been on the physics faculty at the University of Washington since 1974. Wilkes has authored or co-authored over 100 papers in refereed journals, and served as editor for several published conference proceedings. His physics interests focus on high energy neutrino and cosmic-ray astrophysics, accelerator studies of neutrinos, and public outreach activities. He is a member of the Marine Technology Society, and holds US Patent 5,469,403, “Digital chirp sonar system”. He serves as a reviewer for agencies such as NASA, NSF, DOE, ARC (Australia) and NRC (Canada). He has worked in international collaborations throughout his career, with colleagues in Japan, Sweden, Poland, Russia, Australia, and many other countries. In 2015, he was a co-recipient of the Breakthrough Prize for his work on neutrino physics research, and in 1998, he was a co-recipient of the Asahi Science Prize (Japan). Wilkes worked on the research team led by 2015 Nobel Prize winner Takaaki Kajita, the Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) Collaboration in Japan. The endeavors honored by the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics were large-scale, multiyear experiments to measure the fundamental properties of neutrinos. Wilkes and the late UW physics professor Kenneth Young began the UW’s involvement with the experiments at Super-Kamiokande when the facility was still under construction in the early 1990s. He chaired the UW Faculty Council on Teaching and Learning from 2014 to 2016. Following retirement in 2016, he continues educational work part-time as professor emeritus.