Rate My Professor Calvin Lowe

Dr. Calvin Lowe serves as Research Professor in the Department of Physics within Hampton University’s School of Science. He holds a B.S. in physics from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, an S.M. in plasma physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1979, and a Sc.D. in solid state physics from MIT in 1983, where his doctoral thesis focused on the optical properties of graphite intercalation compounds. His academic career includes early work as an associate professor of physics at the University of Kentucky following graduation. In 1987, he joined Hampton University as associate professor and chair of the Physics Department, serving until 1992. He then chaired the Physics Department at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University from 1992 to 1995. Returning to Hampton University in 1996, he assumed roles as Vice President of Research and Dean of the Graduate College. From 2000 to 2006, he was the ninth president of Bowie State University. Afterward, he served as Vice President of Research and Program Development at the National Institute for Aerospace. In 2011, he became Dean of the School of Science at Hampton University, a position he held while continuing contributions to physics research.

Dr. Lowe’s research spans optical physics, material characterization, plasma physics, and fusion energy. He is the author or co-author of numerous publications, including “Stoichiometric effects on the optical properties of LiInSe2” (1989), “(DRUIP) Nozzle Beam Deposited Diamondlike Carbon Films” (1989), “Optical Properties of Intercalated Graphite” (1983), and “A study of the negative glow efficiency in a recombining gas” (1979). Recent efforts include co-authorship on “Accelerating the fusion workforce in the USA” (2025) and involvement in the STAR_Lite stellarator project aimed at validating non-resonant divertors for fusion plasma research (2026 preprint). He has secured major funding, such as a $1.7 million NSF grant in 2023 to develop a stellarator experiment group at Hampton University. As a member of the HU Fusion Group, he advances training for underrepresented students in fusion science, collaborating with Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory and others. Dr. Lowe received the Outstanding Achievement Award from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 2011 and was appointed to the Virginia Nuclear Energy Consortium Authority in 2024. He organized the NSF Clean Energy Technology Workforce Accelerator for Fusion conference in 2024 and presented on securing research funds at Hampton University’s 2025 Researchers’ Informational Forum.