The late Lawrence Hantel ('60, '62) and his wife Elizabeth recently donated $300,000 to the Department of Physics and Astronomy to create the Lawrence W. Hantel Endowed Fellowship Fund in Memory of Professor Donald J. Montgomery. Lawrence Hantel received both his undergraduate and Master's degrees in physics from Michigan State University. A golfing scholarship brought Hantel to MSU, but he developed a keen interest in chemistry and physics and never played for the golf team. Lawrence Hantel believed that Professor Montgomery was instrumental in his scientific development and his very successful career.
Hantel was greatly influenced by Montgomery's caring guidance during his student years. Throughout his career, Hantel would often reflect upon the excellent leadership and example shown by Professor Montgomery. Sadly, Lawrence passed away in February of this year at age 62, after a battle with leukemia. One of his last wishes was to show his appreciation of the guidance and mentoring he received from Professor Montgomery and MSU.
The Hantel endowed fellowship was created to provide talented undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in long-term research programs that will augment their preparation for graduate school and the work environment. The goal is to develop in the student the ability to identify a problem, to plan and execute a program to solve the problem, and last but not least, to write up the results in a clear, understandable manner. These skills will help advance awardees in the achievement of their goals in graduate school and on the job.
Through this endowed fellowship, the Hantels have ensured that the legacy of both Lawrence Hantel and Professor Donald J. Montgomery will continue, as it fosters continued scientific development of motivated undergraduate students.
Suzette Hittner, Natural Science, Vol XV, No. 1, Fall 2001, p. 20