Professor reflects on career as pioneer, educator
Melaney Whiting
A&E Writer
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The first woman to receive at doctorate from the Georgia Institute of Technology and professor of physics at TSU is finishing her last semester of teaching and attribution, after 38 years of service.
According to Sandra Scheick, the head of the physics and math department, Patricia Hull had to sue Georgia Tech to be admitted because there was a lot of antifeminism at the time.
She won her case.
"I can relate because there was a prejudice against me as a female mathematician at Syracuse University," Scheick said. "Patricia Hull is a tough cookie and she will fight the battles that need to be fought because of her background. She is very conscious of equity and playing fair, which makes her more tolerant of everything and more aware of the world around her."
Before Hull came to work at TSU, she was a flight test engineer at Lock Key Aircraft in Marietta, Ga., where she was a part of a team that took data from an experimental aircraft and analyzed the performance of the craft, durability, speed, etc.
"When I arrived in the fall of 1968, Tennessee State University had just changed their name from A&I Institute to TSU," Hull said.
Hull had two jobs essentially where she was teaching both introductory physics and upper division physics, but her specialty was optics. She also wrote proposals to the U.S. Navy.
Hull explained that when doing research for the military, they don't necessarily tell you why they need the research. They just write a request for a proposal typically via Internet. If a scientist sees a request that they feel they have the expertise to complete, they will write a proposal. If the proposal is promising, then the Navy will give the scientist a grant.
"Twenty five or so years ago, I formed a partnership with several scientists from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory-LBL-and we began doing research in ocean optics for the Office of Naval Research," Hull said. "We studied microscopic organisms using polarized light scattering. Our primary interest was to understand the transmission of light through the ocean."
According to Scheick, Hull had a naval contract for about 10 years where she would go to the LBL for the summer and take students with her. This brought a lot of money, which helped pay for equipment and scholarships for students, into the department.
"At one point she took some students to Hawaii for underwater research. She was always a mover and a shaker." Scheick said.
Hull said marine water around harbors is very murky, due to microorganisms, detritus, and debris from the shore. The government wanted to be able to see through water so they could accurately map the ocean bottom and help detect mines in harbors during war time situations, according to researchers' predictions.
The Navy funds lots of universities and scientists at national laboratories, according to Hull.
"For me; these grants included working on the Navy projects in the summer, in which I would take students to the LBL," Hull said. "The students I took got their travel expenses paid for, academic credit, and a stipend. I did this for 20 or more years."
All in all, Hull feels that teaching at TSU has been a perfect fit for her.
She admitted that "the facts that teachers teach are not as important; people forget them quickly. I think what teachers want to give their students is a vision. They want to give students a broader perspective of the world. We want to broaden their horizons and tell them what is out there."
Hull referred to an old proverb which said "if a man is hungry and you give him a fish you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish you feed him for a lifetime" to explain what she as a teacher believed.
According to Devin Williams, a past undergraduate student of Hull from 2000-01, said she has always seemed to go above and beyond when it came to her students.
"I remember how she always made time for her students. Occasionally, on Saturdays she would take time out of her schedule to meet with students to help them finish their course work.
"The average experience that I have had with most of the math and physics teachers at TSU is that they would help you be able to solve 10 or 15 problems, but with her, she would show you a problem that was pretty much the morality of the concept that is being taught. With her showing you that problem and explaining it, you pretty much have a good understanding of how to approach and solve all of the other problems by referring back to that one problem.
"She helped us get experience by allowing us to work in the summer program at the center of excellence. She was definitely a professor that impacted my life significantly, so I am definitely sad to see her go."
Hull admitted that she truly felt she touched many students throughout her experience at TSU.
"I love the students; I have been very happy here. It has been a good experience. There is nothing anymore rewarding than teaching-I can't think of anything," Hull said. "-(T)he advice I have had to offer, if just a few took it, would definitely be some impact."
In the near future she plans to travel once the semester is over and continue educating herself within her field.
"I plan to travel to London and Rome," Hull said. "I am still interested in physics. I love it and I have certainly not lost interest in learning new things about it."
And she will be truly missed by some in her department.
"Dr. Hull is a very knowledgeable lady. She has held our laboratories together since before I came to TSU 30 years ago. She has always been my consultant when it comes to physics; she has a real feel for her field. She is a marvelous co-worker of mine and we have a great respect for one another. I plan to stay in touch with her after she leaves TSU," Scheick said. •
