Henry B. Silsbee came to Stony Brook in 1964 as an outstanding physicist and educator.  He enjoyed a 31 year career earning himself Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 1995.
“Hank,” as he is fondly remembered,  established a research program at Brookhaven National Lab where he used high precision atomic beam resonance techniques to pursue a variety of investigations.
    As a faculty member of young Stony Brook’s Department of Physics, Hank realized the need to develop experimental facilities.  He recognized the potential for Stony Brook to be a national leader in physics and with great enthusiasm used his talents and energies to work together with    others in building research laboratories.
    As Stony Brook’s reputation for excellence grew, Hank took a leadership role in graduate admissions, managing the department’s graduate admissions program.  His efforts and attention to detail had a significant impact on the educational and research program that exists today.
He is also remembered for his passion for world travel, visiting over 150 countries.  During one of his trips to the South Pacific he recognized that the New University of Apia, Samoa needed updated physics books.  His love of education inspired Hank to gather and send to Samoa the needed duplicate texts contributed by Stony Brook faculty.

    In recognition of his profound influence on the Department of Physics and Astronomy (the new name of the department since 1998), the "H. B. Silsbee Award for Excellence," an endowed fund, has been established.  The first award was given on April 18, 2001, to Yildirim Mutaf, to recognize his outstanding record in his first two years as a graduate student in the department.  It is particularly appropriate to honor Hank with an award to a graduate student in the early part of the PhD process, since cultivating an outstanding group of entering graduate students was such an important concern to him, successfully pursued for many years.   Hank is remembered for excelling in teaching, building and promoting the University.  He is sorely missed by his friends and colleagues.