Ronald Kumon

I received a B.S. in physics and mathematics from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in physics from The University of Texas at Austin. I subsequently worked as a research physicist at the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (Boulder), University of Windsor, Case Western Reserve University, and the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and as an adjunct professor at Lawrence Technological University. I then worked for 15 years at Kettering University as an assistant and associate professor of applied physics. I am currently a student in the graduate certificate program in medical physics at Wayne State University. My interests are broadly themed around medical physics, biomedical ultrasound, and optical microscopy. I have taught introductory and upper-level physics courses, including acoustics, medical physics, solid-state physics, computational physics, and quantum mechanics. I have also been engaged in STEM outreach. I am a licensed amateur radio operator and accredited volunteer examiner. In my spare time, I enjoy listening to live and recorded jazz. I am a member of the Society of Physics Students, Sigma Pi Sigma, American Physical Society, Acoustical Society of America, IEEE, and American Radio Relay League. I also served for three years as a member-at-large on the executive committee of the Eastern Great Lakes Section of the APS.

I am currently serving as the SPS President. I was a chapter advisor and Sigma Pi Sigma advisor for the Kettering University A- and B-section chapters for 15 years. (At Kettering, students alternate between school and co-op terms, and so there are two separate chapters that also alternate between quarters.) During that time, the chapters received 16 Outstanding Chapter Awards, 10 Distinguished Chapter Awards, 2 Chapter Research Awards, and 1 Blake Lilly Award. In 2025, I received the SPS Outstanding Chapter Advisor Award. I previously served for six years as the Zone Councilor for Zone 7, where I helped to facilitate 10 zone meetings, started a zone website, and established a student zone council. As a member of the National Council, I have served on the Governance, Physics Congress, Sigma Pi Sigma, SPS Task Force Committees and chaired the Governance Committee. I also attended the 2019 and 2022 Physics Congresses and the 2025 Physics and Astronomy Congress. I am big fan of spherical cows. It is an honor and a privilege to serve as your SPS President!