His most famous student is Steven Chu, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997 for his discovery of laser cooling and served as U.S. Secretary of Energy during the Obama administration.

These students include Hyatt Gibbs, Frank Calaprice, Stuart Freedman,[6] Phillip Bucksbaum,[7] Larry Hunter, Carol Tanner, David DeMille, Dmitry Budker,[8] and Chris Regan.

That same year, colleagues, friends and former students gathered to honor him with the “ComminsFest Symposium.” The two-day event featured talks on Commins’ past and present scientific interests and highlighted his passion for music and art.

In 2014, Commins authored the book, Quantum Mechanics: an Experimentalist's Approach, an outgrowth of lecture notes he developed while teaching Physics 221AB frequently between 1965 and 2010.

[9] As a testament to his worldwide impact in mentoring graduate students, Steven Chu launched a philanthropy campaign to create a chair in his honor.