Just six years after joining Harvard's junior faculty in physics, John M. Doyle has been granted tenure.

"I'm just very, very happy to be teaching at Harvard," Doyle said.

Doyle, a New Hampshire native, graduated from MIT with a degree in electrical engineering before shifting his focus to atomic, molecular and low-energy particle physics.

After receiving his Ph.D. in physics from MIT in 1991, Doyle did post-doctoral work at MIT and then joined Harvard's physics department in 1993.

According to Professor of Physics Melissa E. B. Franklin, promotions within Harvard's academic departments are generally rare. But in recent years, the physics department has bucked this trend, Franklin said.

"We've done that a few times lately," Franklin said, adding that two junior physics professors were promoted this year.

Doyle's appointment brings him new administrative responsibilities. As a senior faculty member, he will serve on various committees, helping with promotions and selections within the department.

But in many ways, Doyle's new title will not change his role at the College. This year he will teach two of the same classes he taught last year: Physics 125, "Widely Applied Physics," and Physics 143a, "Introduction to Quantum Mechanics."