Physics & Astronomy Department Awards
2017 Awards
Staff
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Wayne Chiasson
Special recognition to staff members Mike Myers and Doug Shafer
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service
- Wayne Chiasson, 20 years
- Jean Andrews, 10 years
- Stephen Goss, 10 years
Undergraduate Students
Zak Blumer received best presentation at the 2017 Undergraduate Physics Research Conference, organized by the Society of Physics Students at µÛÍõ»áËù. Honorable Mention was awarded to Miles Lindquist.
Brandon Coleman was awarded Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant
Graduate Students
Greg Rosen was awarded Outstanding Teaching Assistant by the College of Arts & Sciences.
Sudiksha Khadka was awarded the Vishwa S. Shukla Memorial Scholarship.
2016 Awards
Faculty
Alexander Govorov was named as a 2016 µÛÍõ»áËù Distinguished Professor.
Carl Brune voted as an Outstanding Referee by the American Physical Society.
Staff
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Doug Shafer
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service
- Dick Piccard, 25 years
- Devon Jacobs, 15 years
- Jeongihm Pak, 10 years
Undergraduate Students
Max Camp received best presentation at the 2016 Undergraduate Physics Research Conference, organized by the Society of Physics Students at µÛÍõ»áËù. Honorable Mention was awarded to Sara Sand and Andrew Dewald.
Robert Radloff and Jacob Williamson were inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the honor society for the Society of Physics Students.
Graduate Students
Sneha Pandya captured a Graduate Student Senate Original Work Grant.
J. Connor Burgad was awarded Outstanding Teaching Assistant by the College of Arts & Sciences
Kiran Prasai was awarded the Vishwa S. Shukla Memorial Scholarship.
Andrea Richard was awarded a Department of Energy Award - Student Research Award for Summer 2016 at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
Kiran Prasai was named the Donald Clippinger Graduate Fellowship recipient.
2015 Awards
Faculty
Alexander Govorov received the Outstanding Faculty Research and Scholarship Award from the College of Arts & Sciences.
David Ingram received the Outstanding Faculty Leadership and Service Award from the College of Arts & Sciences.
Staff
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Julie Goettge
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service
- Don Roth, 20 years
- Doug Shafer, 10 years
Undergraduate Students
Sam Johnson received best presentation at the 2015 Undergraduate Physics Research Conference, organized by the Society of Physics Students at µÛÍõ»áËù. Honorable Mention was awarded to Maxwell Camp and Natalie Klco.
Natalie Klco and Kylie Holmes were inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the honor society for the Society of Physics Students.
Graduate Students
Andrada Mandru captured the Russell and Sigurd Varian award at the annual American Vacuum Society International Symposium in San Jose, CA, one of three national-level named student awards at the meeting. She made two presentations and also won a second award in the Magnetic Interfaces & Nanostructures Division.
Nilaj Chakrabarty was awarded Outstanding Teaching Assistant by the College of Arts & Sciences
Heath Kersell did two pieces of work for his dissertation cited in the future road map of DOE Basic Energy Sciences Advisory Committee. This is leading to the construction of a new beamline at the Advanced Photon Source dedicated to x-ray spectroscopy at the single atom level — the first in the world.
Thushan Wickramasinghe received the Graduate Associate Outstanding Teaching Award by the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
2014 Awards
Faculty
APS Outstanding Referee of Physical Review and Physics Review Letters — Daniel Phillips
Staff
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Jean Andrews
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service
- Candy Dishong, 35 years
- Tom Massey, 25 years
- Todd Koren, 15 years
- Alexander Voinov, 10 years
Undergraduate Students
Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Assistant — Yashashree Jadhav
NSF Graduate Fellowship, University of Wisconsin Madison — Austin Way
Scholarship to the La Serena Data Science School, La Serena Chile — Yashashree Jadhav
Hollings Scholarship with NOAA at the David Skaggs Research Center, Boulder, CO — Helen Cothrel
REU at the LIGO, University of Minnesota — Samantha Thrush
Two detector studies at research facilities in Genoa, Italy and CEA/Saclay, France — Natalie Klco
Graduate Students
College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Teaching Assistant — Oscar Avalos
NQPI Outstanding Dissertation Award — Andrew DiLullo (adviser Dr. Saw-Wai Hla)
Scale-Up Teaching Assistant Award — Tyler Danley, Sean McGraw, and Andrea Richard
Y.C. Chang Graduate Fellowship — Mahmoud Asmar
2014 Stewardship Science Academic Programs Outstanding Poster — Sushil Dhakal
— Rakitha Beminiwattha '13Ph.D.
2013 Awards
Faculty
College of Arts & Sciences Outstanding Teacher Award — Dr. Carl Brune
Staff
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Doug Shafer
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service
- Don Carter, 40 years
- Julie Goettge, 15 years
Undergraduate Students
NOAA Hollings Scholarship — Helen Cothrel
Marshall Scholarship and NSF Doctoral Scholarship — Keith Hawkins
Max Plank Summer Internship — Yashashree Jadhav
µÛÍõ»áËù Fellows Program — Natalie Klco
µÛÍõ»áËù Space Grant Consortium (OSGC) Junior Award — Andrew Dewald
REU at UC Davis — Samantha Thrush
Graduate Students
µÛÍõ»áËù Space Consortium Fellowship — Desiree Cotto-Figueroa
Arts & Sciences Outstanding TA — Thushan Wickramasinghe
Y.-C. Chang Graduate Fellowship — Yinyun Li
NQPI Outstanding Dissertation Award — Ginetom Diniz (adviser Dr. Sergio Ulloa)
2013 Stewardship Science Academic Programs Symposium Outstanding Poster — Cody Parker
2012 Awards
Staff
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Meg Van Patten
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service — Wayne Chiasson, 15 years
Undergraduate Students
Ernest F. Hollings undergraduate Scholarship — Austin Way
Graduate Students
µÛÍõ»áËù Space Grant Consortium Fellowship — Desiree Cotto-Figueroa
Mid-Western Association of Graduate Schools' Distinguished Masters' Thesis Award — Heath Kersell
Poster Award at the 2012 American Ceramic Society Glass and Optical Division Meeting — Heath Kersell
Y.-C. Chang Graduate Fellowship — Tejinder Kaur
Donald Clippinger Graduate Fellowship — Zhiyuan Fan
Arts & Sciences Outstanding TA — Andrea Richard
2011 Awards
Faculty
American Physical Society Fellowship — Dr. Carl Brune
µÛÍõ»áËù Transformative Faculty
- Dr. Markus Boettcher
- Dr. David Drabold
- Dr. Saw Hla
- Dr. Mark Lucas
- Dr. Art Smith
Grasselli Brown Faculty Teaching Award — Dr. Ken Hicks
Staff
µÛÍõ»áËù Administrative Service
- John O'Donnell, 25 years
- Devon Jacobs, 10 years
Physics & Astronomy Outstanding Staff Award — Tracy Inman and Devon Jacobs
Undergraduate Students
Goldwater Scholarship — Keith Hawkins
Sigma Xi Grant-in-aid — John Kerr
Graduate Students
Sigma Xi Grant-in-aid — Brett Ragozzine
µÛÍõ»áËù Space Grant Consortium Fellowship — Desiree Cotto-Figueroa
2011 American Ceramic Glass & Optical Materials Division, First Place Poster Award — Chandrasiri Ihalawela
Arts & Sciences Outstanding TA — Sean Krupa