In 1984 Dr. Gerald Mahan was one of the first two professors to be appointed a distinguished scientist in the new Center of Excellence, the Science Alliance. Prior to this appointment, Professor Mahan was distinguished professor at Indiana University, where he directed the Materials Research Laboratory. Dr. Mahan held appointments in the UT Physics and Astronomy Department and in the Solid State Division of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. His accomplishments in the field of solid-state physics are widespread, including the development of theories to account for the optical and electrical behavior of semiconductors. Dr. Mahan, a member of the National Academy of Sciences (1995), received the PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. He left UT in 2001 to become a distinguished professor at the Pennsylvania State University.