Merlot Conference in Nashville

July 25-29, 2005

On the day after Rod finished his Conceptual Physics course, we drove to Nashville in 100°F heat for the Merlot Conference. The image at left is just after dawn when we got a nice view of the big red sun from the Fairfield resort where we were staying.

We went downtown to the Nashville Convention Center for breakfast and the award ceremony. Brenda is shown in the lobby of the hotel.

Rod's HyperPhysics received the Merlot Classic Award for Physics for 2005. He is shown here with the current director of Merlot.

The Merlot organization takes a light-hearted look at the fact that it has the same name as the Sonoma wine, and makes its awards a specially engraved bottle of Merlot wine. The wine company has reciprocated, making specially engraved bottles with the name and logo of the organization. HyperPhysics is the 2005 winner of the Classics Award in physics as indicated on the ribbon.

This is the certificate awarde to Rod for HyperPhysics.

We got to meet some of the key participants in the history of Merlot. A member of the Georgia Board of Regents staff introduced Chuck, one of the founders of Merlot. We had gotten to know him a bit at breakfast. He is an avid mountain climber and has climbed all the 14000+ ft peaks in Colorado. He lives in Jackson, Wyoming now.

Cathy of Georgia Southern is on the editorial board and is shown here introducing the keynote speaker. She was very kind to me in informing and guiding me about the features of the meeting.

Rod's talk on HyperPhysics was well received, with lots of questions and discussion afterward. The HyperPhysics Project was also highlighted on the Merlot poster in the main exhibit area. It noted the Classic winners over the past three years or so.

The Merlot folks were very gracious and helpful. This is Bruce Mason of the Physics Department of the University of Oklahoma. He is the Merlot Physics Editor who helped me through the process of creating a Merlot "snapshot" for HyperPhysics and who introduced me when I made my presentation about HyperPhysics.

"I'm just so proud to be hyar!" (Minnie Pearl)

Across the street from the Nashville Convention Center is the Ryman Auditorium, longtime home of the Grand Ole Opry. Brenda walks across the street to it.

The auditorium was build in 1891 as the Union Gospel Tabernacle, made possible by gifts from Ryman. It was later renamed the Ryman Auditorium and stands in contrast to the modern Bellsouth Building behind it.

The Grand Ol' Opry left the Ryman Auditorium in 1974, relocating in the new "Grand Ole Opry House".