Shortly after I joined the physics department, I discovered something special, a community that celebrates together. We gather every year for a welcome breakfast, our 10x10 competition, fall picnics at Green Lakes, Halloween events, holiday parties and a collaborative art board that brightens our hallways. But one of the traditions that stands out as the perfect symbol of who we are is the Penny Davis Cup.

The department's fall picnic has been bringing us together for decades, possibly dating back to the early 1960s, though we're not entirely sure when it started. (If you remember the early days and have stories to share, we'd love to hear them!) In 2015, Ryan Fisher, former research professor in our department and former academic coordinator Patricia Whitmore reinvigorated the event by introducing the Students vs. Faculty Competition. The first year we played games of trivia, home run derby, water balloon toss, tug of war and bocce. The best of three was the winner! The games and rules have evolved over the years, but the friendly rivalry remains strong.

That first competition year was Penny Davis's final picnic before retiring after 27 years as administrative assistant to the chair. Penny was the department's backbone. She worked with seven different chairs: Kamesh Wali, Marvin Goldberg, Eric Schiff, Ed Lipson, Cristina Marchetti, Peter Saulson and Alan Middleton. She welcomed new faculty and graduate students, planned department events, kept track of keys, troubleshot problems and even produced earlier versions of our newsletter: PHYSICS MATTERS.

Phil Arnold, our long-time machinist, had an idea. Why not create a trophy to record the winners? True to form, he built it himself, repurposing a table leg and an atom model into something uniquely ours. When the department decided to honor Penny by naming it after her, the Penny Davis Cup was born. Penny, with her characteristic wit, had one request: "Just don't call it the Penny Davis Memorial Cup."

Since 2015, the cup has moved back and forth between students and faculty: 2015 and 2016 students, 2017 and 2018 faculty, 2019 students, 2020 (no contest due to COVID), 2021 faculty, then three straight years of student victories in 2022, 2023, and 2024. This fall, faculty finally reclaimed the cup!

Our machinists etch each year's winner onto copper plaques affixed to the trophy. The cup is getting a revamp early next year to make room for many more battles to come.

People move on, new faces join us, games change and catering vendors rotate. The Penny Davis Cup keeps enduring and evolving, just like our community. It's more than a trophy; it's a reminder that the best part of physics isn't just research or the discoveries. It's the people who are part of our community and contribute to building something together that lasts long after the picnic ends.