Board of Education member resigns

Cites job promotion

By:Lea Kahn
   Janardhan Manickam, who has served on the Lawrence Township Board of Education for nine years, submitted resignation letters this week to school board President Philip Benson and Schools Superintendent Max Riley.
   As cited by Dr. Manickam, changes in his "professional circumstances" are driving his resignation, effective Jan. 1, 2005. Dr. Manickam’s term expires in April 2005.
   During his nine-year tenure on the school board, Dr. Manickam has served on the board’s Communications, Policy, Planning, Facilities and Negotiations committees.
   Dr. Manickam presently serves on the Planning and Legislative Relations Committee and the Educational Program Committee. He currently chairs the Educational Programs Committee.
   "I’m most proud of my work on the Educational Program Committee, helping the board shape its vision statement, expanding access at Eggerts Crossing Village, and trying to balance the needs of the entire student body," Dr. Manickam said.
   A scientist in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Dr. Manickam was recently appointed to head the Theory Department, leading approximately 40 scientists. Possibly the largest theory group in the nation addressing plasma physics, the mission of the department is to help provide the scientific foundations for establishing magnetic confinement as an attractive, technically feasible energy option.
   Dr. Manickam joined the PPPL staff in 1975. He has been a principal research scientist since 1986. He has been a visiting scientist at several research institutions, including the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics in Garching, Germany, and the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute in Tokai, Japan.
   Dr. Manickam received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Osmania University in India, a master’s degree in nuclear physics from Andhra University in India, and a Ph.D. in plasma physics from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.
   Dr. Manickam is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of numerous professional organizations and a co-author on more than 150 papers in scientific journals.
   "We will miss Dr. Manickam’s leadership and wisdom and are truly fortunate to have had the benefits of his nine years of service to the Lawrence students and community. We wish him the very best with his new, lofty challenges in the lab," Mr. Benson said.