ALUMNI “WALL OF HONOR” The West Liberty University Alumni Board of Directors instituted a project in 1990 to demonstrate to current students, visitors, and friends that the college has some very successful graduates. This project, known as the “Alumni Wall of Honor,” is a dramatic way to honor some of the college’s most distinguished alumni and display pride in the accomplishments of its graduates. The concept was suggested by then Associate Professor of Physics Robert W. Schramm, who is a 1958 graduate of the college and a 2002 Alumni Wall of Honor inductee. The Alumni Wall of Honor is housed in the south end of the Union known as the Alumni Lounge.
Robert W Kuckuck
Inducted 2004Bob Kuckuck was raised on Wheeling Island and graduated from Wheeling High School. After receiving a B.S. degree in physics from West Liberty in 1960, he went on to earn an M.Sc. in physics from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in physics/applied science from the University of California. Kuckuck spent the majority of his professional career, 38 years, as a physicist at the University of California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif. His early career at the Laboratory was spent developing new measurement techniques for diagnosing the performance of underground nuclear explosions. He then moved into scientific leadership positions in which he was responsible for, among other things, leading the Laboratory’s underground nuclear weapons testing program, providing technical support to U.S. nuclear weapons treaty negotiations in Geneva, and developing new techniques for verifying foreign compliance with nuclear weapons treaties. Kuckuck retired as Deputy Director of the Laboratory in 2001. After retirement Kuckuck spent two years in Washington, D.C. as the first principal deputy administrator of the newly-formed National Nuclear Security Administration, the agency that oversees the nation’s nuclear weapons laboratories and is responsible for the safety and reliability of the nation’s nuclear stockpile. For this effort, he received the Secretary of Energy’s Gold Medal, the Department’s highest civilian honor. In his early years at Livermore, Kuckuck taught science and mathematics in the evenings at the local community college, developing new courses focused toward the layperson. He also created the Laboratory’s first program for assisting physics teachers from minority colleges, both through summer appointments and continuing involvements upon their return to school. Kuckuck is married to the former Marilyn Kiger of Wheeling and has three daughters and six grandchildren, all living on the West Coast.