Kennedy Reed is a physicist at Lawrence Livermore National laboratory. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree at Monmouth College in Illinois and earned his doctorate at the University of Nebraska. Before he began his career in science at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, he taught physics at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mr. Kennedy has participated in national programs that promote the participation of minorities in physics programs and who have, perhaps, a subsequent focus on a career in science. He co-founded the National Physical Science Consortium, which is a national coalition of universities, national laboratories and corporations. The consortium provides fellowships for minority students and women who pursue graduate studies in the physical sciences, thus going on to a career in science. Previously, he has served as president of the National Society of Black Physicists. He currently is director for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Research Collaborations Programs for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Other Minority Institutions. He is an associate director for education and outreach at the University of California, Davis' Education and Outreach at the NSF Center for Bio-photonics Science and Technology.
His career in science also includes membership on a number of review panels and advisory boards. He has been a member of review panels for the National Science Foundation, the National Research Council, and the US Department of Energy. In addition, he has served on external advisory boards at several universities' research centers. He has been a visiting scientist in Europe as well. He has worked at both the University College London in the UK, and at the Hahn Meitner Institute in Germany.
In the years 1997 and 1999, he was a visiting scientist at the University of Cape Coast in Ghana and at University Cheikh Anta Diop in Senegal. These positions were with the Visiting Scholars Program at the International Center for Theoretical Physics in Trieste. He has also presented scientific lectures at other African countries' universities. In addition, he has been the organizer for international workshops and conferences associated with physics in Africa. He is the US representative on the International campaign of Pure and Applied Physics Commission on Physics for Development.
He has also been vice chair of the APS committee on International Scientific Affairs and has been a member of the APS Task Force on Research Collaborations with Africa. He is the US representative of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics Commission on Physics for Development.
In addition, Mr. Reed conducted and organized in-depth US visits for physicists from Africa. They have included both presentations and formal meetings at universities and laboratories and some meetings in Washington, DC at a high level as well. Representatives from agencies such as NRC, AAS, USAID, and NSF have been in attendance at these meetings. In fact, some of these meetings and visits led to student and faculty exchanges between US and African universities.
As of 2003, Mr. Reed has also received the John Wheatley Award from the American Physical Society. The award was for his efforts to promote physics education and research in Africa.
Mr. Reed has stated that the Forum on International Physics is meant to foster free negotiation and cooperation among all countries' physicists. He has also stated that this cooperation is especially important for scientists in developing countries, because there, a career in science can be severely curtailed; physicists' participation can be severely limited due to lack of resources and access to up-to-date scientific information.
He has also stated that the Forum on International Physics has initiated several outreach efforts to benefit both students who may wish for a career in science and for scientists in developing regions. This has included the exchange of journals and books, as well as equipment. Forum members have actively participated in APS involvement with physics in developing countries, including regions in Latin America, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia. He stresses that these activities must continue.
Mr. Reed has also stated that his perspective has been greatly affected by experiences he has had working with students and physics professors in Africa, which he did through the Visiting Scholars Program of the International Center for Theoretical Physics. He has stated that despite limited resources, professors have been dedicated and resourceful as they train students and continued to carry out research in their home countries. The students, in addition, were eager to learn and very disciplined.
Upon his return to the US, he began to try to bring these students' and physicists' accomplishments to the attention of the American scientific community. He has continued to work with students who may wish for a career in science and physicists in Africa; he also continues his efforts to join these students and physicists with programs and scientists in the US. In addition, he has continued to be involved with physics in other developing regions.
