A West Virginia University physics professor will give the second Benedum Distinguished Scholar Awards lecture at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 3, in the Mountainlairs Rhododendron Room.

Nancy Giles, a professor and associate chair of the Department of Physics in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, will presentRole of Electrons, Excitons and Phonons in Ultraviolet Light Emission from Semiconductors.The lecture is free and open to the public.

Giles is one of two recipients of this years Benedum Awards, which recognize WVU faculty for achievements in research, scholarship and creative endeavors.

The other winner is Jorge Flores, a professor in WVU s Department of Biology. The recipients each receive a $5,000 award and give a lecture related to their field. They will also be recognized at a special convocation at 7 p.m. Friday, April 20, in the Blue and Gold Ballrooms at the Mountainlair as part of WVU s Weekend of Honors.

Giles is an experimental solid-state physicist working in the area of optical and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of point defects in semiconductors and optical materials.

A native of Raleigh, N.C., she earned a bachelors degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a doctorate from North Carolina State University (NCSU).

After a post-doctoral appointment at NCSU , she joined the WVU faculty in 1989. Professor Giles received the WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching in 1998.

In addition, she has published over 150 refereed papers. Seven students have completed their doctoral research under her supervision.

Her research has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Defense and NASA . Giles recently completed a sabbatical at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Her current work focuses on wide band-gap semiconductors with potential for use in ultraviolet light-emitting devices.

The Benedum and Distinguished Professors of WVU established the Benedum Distinguished Scholar Awards in 1985-1986 to honor and reward University faculty for excellence in research, scholarship or creative endeavors.

The awards recognize either a single recent achievement of note or a long, distinguished career that is still ongoing.

The program is funded by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and coordinated by WVU s Office of Academic Affairs and Research.