George Bruce Taggart

George Bruce Taggart has dedicated over 35 years of his career to research in the advancement of science and technology.

Taggart began his career as an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1971 and concluded his time there as a professor of physics in 1983. During his career, he researched at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Naval Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal University of Pernambuco. He also conducted research in theoretical physics at Oxford University and served as visiting associate professor for a year at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

During the 1980s, Taggart worked with several prestigious companies, including Ford Aerospace, where he worked on studies and research primarily for defense agencies. These projects included materials for space-based lasers, armor-anti-armor, low observables, and applications of artificial intelligence to materials processing. In 1989, he joined the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a program director for condensed matter and materials theory in materials research, particularly theoretical and computational condensed matter physics and materials science. In addition to managing the theory program, Taggart was active in various initiatives, including advanced scientific computing, nanoscience and biological physics initiatives.

Taggart retired to the Philadelphia area to be closer to family and friends in 2006, but he continues to support the College of Science and Technology and the physics department. He holds a physics degree from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and a PhD from Temple University. He says that he learned physics at the College of William and Mary, but he learned how to be a physicist at Temple University; he is forever grateful for both experiences.