Meet Ron Kumon, the Newly Elected President of the Society of Physics Students

Please join us in welcoming the new SPS president, Ron Kumon! Kumon is an associate professor of physics at Kettering University in Michigan, where he’s been the SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma advisor for the past 14 years. During that time, his chapter has received 14 Outstanding Chapter Awards, ten Distinguished Chapter Awards, two Chapter Research Awards, and a Blake Lilly Award. Kumon previously served for six years as the zone councilor for Zone 7, during which he facilitated many zone meetings, started a zone website, established a student zone council, and chaired the SPS Council Governance Committee.

As president, Kumon plans to study how to further improve the value that SPS provides to its members, build connections with SPS alumni and encourage local chapters to do the same, and advocate for the future of the fields. “We all need to work collectively to advocate for strong support for physics and astronomy programs so that students can continue to achieve their graduate school and career goals,” he says.

Kumon received his BS in physics and mathematics from Michigan State University and a PhD in physics from The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests are broadly themed around biomedical ultrasound, optical microscopy, and nondestructive evaluation of materials. He listens to jazz in his spare time and is a licensed amateur radio operator.