This fund was established by Gene A. and Richard E. Garrett for the purpose of supporting cultural and educational advancements in the teaching of physics, not research unrelated to teaching.

Gene was born December 5, 1925. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Roanoke College in 1946. She and her husband, Richard, married in 1947 after meeting in the Roanoke, VA, area.

Richard was born February 17, 1922. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and math, also from Roanoke College, in 1942, and a master’s degree in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1950. In 1953, he graduated from the University of Virginia with a doctoral degree.

Richard joined the faculty at UF in 1963. He was an associate professor of physics before working as a professor of physics from 1970 to 1974. From 1974 until he retired, he was a professor of physics and associate chairman of the physics department.