Rhodes Magazine - Fall 2003 - DLynx at Rhodes College

A,-
s News
Three Join Board of Trustees
Two alumni
and the spouse
of an alumna
have joined the
Rhodes Board of
Trustees.
Joe M.
Duncan '63, a
partner with
the Memphis
law firm of
Burch, Porter &
Johnson, joined
the board in July. A graduate of Vanderbilt University
law school, he is a member of the American, Tennessee
and Memphis Bar Associations. He is also a member of
the Memphis Estate Planning Council, a fellow of the
Memphis Bar Foundation and a fellow in the American
College of Trust and Estate Counsel.
In addition, Duncan is a member of the board of
directors of Bulab Holdings Inc. and nexAir. He is
married to the former Lee Seabrook '73.
Herman Morris Jr. '73, who also joined the board
in July, has served as president and CEO of Memphis
Light, Gas & Water since 1997. He had been general
counsel for MLGW from 1989-97, and an attorney in
private practice before joining the utility.
Joe Duncan '63 Herman Morris '73
The National Science Foundation
has awarded a $75,000 grant to
Rhodes to fund research directed by
associate professor of physics Brent
Hoffmeister.
Effective Aug. 1, 2003, and
spread over three years, the grant
will fund new instrumentation for
an ultrasonic scanning system
that Hoffmeister and his students
Morris
received his J.D.
from Vanderbilt
University. He
has been the
recipient of
numerous
awards, most
recently the
African American
Male Image
Robert Waller
Award presented
by the Phi Beta
Sigma Fraternity; the James B. Donovan Individual
Achievement Award presented by the American Public
Power Association; the Distinguished American Award,
presented by AXA Liberty Bowl and the Memphis
Chapter of the National Football Foundation and
College Hall of Fame; and the 2002-03 Alumni Hall
of Fame, presented by the Memphis City Schools.
He serves on boards of numerous professional
organizations, including the American Public Power
Association, Tennessee Valley Public Power Association
and American Gas Association. He has also been
chairman of the Memphis Area Chamber of Commerce
and president of the Memphis branch of the NAACP,
the Latino Festival and Soulsville USA.
Hoffmeister Awarded NSF Grant
are using to study the physical
properties of biologic tissues.
The system is essentially a robot
that can quickly and automatically
make thousands of ultrasound
measurements of a specimen.
Hoffmeister and his students
will use the system to attempt to
develop ultrasonic techniques that
are sensitive to bone density. The
4 FALL 2003 RHODES
research may lead to new advances
in the diagnosis of degenerative bone
diseases such as osteoporosis.
Researchers also plan to use
the system to study the ultrasonic
properties of cartilage. Research in
this area could be used to develop
diagnostic techniques for arthritis.