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Ray Hefferlin Research and Internship Endowment

The Ray Hefferlin Endowment for Research and Internships will provide funding for Southern faculty led research projects that include students and provide paid internship funding for students working on or off campus.

This endowment was initiated in 2023 through the vision of Dr. Larry Hanson to honor the legacy of Dr. Ray Hefferlin and his passion for involving students alongside academic professionals. As a physics professor and researcher at Southern Adventist University from 1955 to 2015, Dr. Hefferlin had a remarkable career.

 He delivered papers and seminars all over the world, worked as an exchange scientist for the American Academy of Sciences, interacted with Nobel laureates in person or by correspondence, and consulted at several prominent research facilities and corporations. He received numerous teaching and research honors and rose to prominence as a physicist around the world, especially for his groundbreaking work with the diatomic molecules that are still in use by scientists today.

This fund for research and internships is being established in Dr. Hefferlin's honor to pay tribute to his legacy as a world-renowned scientist who put Jesus Christ and students above his personal academic aspirations. . 

Dr. Hefferlin actively involved students in his research. Many of the 80+ peer-reviewed articles he published had students as co-authors. His inclusion instilled in each student a sense of pride, accomplishment, and academic achievement. It is to continue that culture that this endowment is established

The Ray Hefferlin Endowment for Research and Internships began in 2023. Its initial investment of $500,000 is provided by individual donors and a matching federal Developing Hispanic-Service Instituetions (DHSI) grant. It provides funding for Southern faculty led research projects that include students and paid internship funding for students working on or off campus.

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