Rate My Professor David Donnelly

David Donnelly is a Professor of Physics in the Department of Physics at Texas State University. He joined the institution in 2000 as an Associate Professor at what was then Southwest Texas State University, was promoted to full Professor in 2002, served as Department Chair from 2007 to 2013, and currently holds the position of Associate Department Chair while chairing the Undergraduate Program Committee since 2020. Prior to Texas State, he was Associate Professor (1998-2000) and Assistant Professor (1992-1998) at Sam Houston State University, following postdoctoral research at the University of California, Santa Barbara's QUEST center. Donnelly holds a B.A. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley (1984) and a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara (1990), where his dissertation focused on impurity associated magnetic modes in antiferromagnets.

Throughout his career, Donnelly has contributed significantly to materials physics and physics education research. His pioneering work on athermal annealing of ion-implanted silicon garnered grants exceeding $1 million from agencies including the National Science Foundation and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, resulting in high-impact publications such as “Athermal Annealing of Silicon” (Physical Review Letters, 1997), “Far-Infrared Spectroscopic, Magneto-Transport, and X-ray Study of Athermal Annealing in Neutron Transmutation Doped Silicon” (Applied Physics Letters, 1997), and “Athermal Annealing of Low-Energy Boron Implants in Silicon” (Applied Physics Letters, 2001). In recent years, his research has shifted toward physics education, investigating the effects of curriculum reforms, student performance on the Force Concept Inventory, and quantum mechanics reasoning, with publications in AIP Conference Proceedings (2013-2018) and involvement in NSF-funded programs for cultivating science educator identities. Donnelly has earned prestigious awards including the Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching (2004), Robert N. Little Award from the Texas Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers (2014), Outstanding Citizen Medal from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (2006), and Outstanding Chapter Advisor from the Society of Physics Students (1995). He also serves on key university committees, such as the Presidential Commissions on the Run to R1 and Student Success.