News & Events

Congratulations to the 2009 graduates of the Department of Physics and Astronomy! In the graduation ceremony held today:

• Bachelor's Degrees
  21 students earned BS degrees in Physics (up from last year's 15)
  3 students earned BA degrees in Physics
  1 student earned a BS degree in Physics and Astronomy
  1 student earned a BA degree in Physics and Astronomy
• Master's Degrees
  11 students earned MA degrees in Physics
• PhD Degrees
  6 students earned PhD degrees in Physics
  4 student earned a PhD degree in Physics and Optics

• Undergraduate Awards
• Graduate Awards
• Faculty Awards

Bachelor's Degrees

The following table displays details about the undergraduates who received their Bachelor's degrees and various awards today.

Undergraduate Awards

The John F. Flagg Award is an annual prize awarded to a graduating senior, majoring in Physics or in Physics and Astronomy, with the highest grade-point average as an undergraduate.

The Fulbright Award is an annual prize awarded to the student who, by his or her performance in the Advanced Laboratory, manifests the greatest promise for developing into an experimental physicist in the tradition exemplified by Prof. Harry W. Fulbright.

The Stoddard Prize is an annual prize awarded for the best senior thesis by a graduating senior in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The Undergraduate Teaching Award is an annual award given by the Department to honor the best undergraduate teaching interns of the class of 2010.

Take 5 Scholars is an award of an additional semester or year at the University, tuition-free, to explore in great depth a subject apart from one's major or main theme of study.

The Kaufmann's Entrepreneurial Year (KEY) is an award of an additional year at the University, tuition-free, to transform an idea into an enterprise that positively affects others.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is a nationally competitive scholarship in science, math, and engineering, endowed by the U.S. Congress to honor the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater.

Founded in January 1, 1925, the German Academic Exchange Service: Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) Scholarship provides students with research opportunities at top institutions across Germany.

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and largest undergraduate honor society in the US dedicated to fostering and recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.

Sigma Pi Sigma is the national physics honor society, affiliated with the American Institute of Physics. Sigma Pi Sigma exists to honor outstanding scholarship in physics; to encourage interest in physics among students at all levels; to promote an attitude of service of its members towards their fellow students, colleagues, and the public; to provide a fellowship of persons who have excelled in physics.

Graduate Awards

The Graduate Teaching Award, won by Jonathan Petruccelli, is an annual prize awarded by the Department to the best graduate teaching assistant.

The American Association of Physics Teachers Award, won by Seong Keun Cho, Mark Pecaut, and Kelly Sassin, is an annual prize awarded by the Department for excellent performance as a workshop, recitation, or laboratory instructor.

The Susumu Okubo Prize, won by Shantanu Agarwal, is a prize in honor Prof. Susumu Okubo, awarded annually by the Department for excellent performance in graduate course work and on the Preliminary Exam.

The Frederick Lobkowicz Prize, won by Bo Young Han and Qing He, is an annual prize awarded by the Department in recognition of an exception PhD dissertation in high-energy nuclear or particle physics.

The Agnes M. and George Messersmith Fellowship, won by Daniel P. Berdine, is given annually by the University Dean of Graduate Studies, in support of a particularly promising doctoral thesis project.

The Outstanding Dissertation Award in the Natural Sciences, won by Benjamin A. Sargent, is given annually by the University in recognition of an outstanding doctoral thesis completed in the Natural Sciences.

PhD Degrees

Faculty Awards

This year's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching went to Nicholas P. Bigelow, Professor of Physics, and to Douglas Cline, Professor of Physics.

The Award for 50 Years of Service as a Faculty Member went to Emil Wolf, Wilson Professor of Optical Physics and Theoretical Physics.

The University Dean's Award for Meritorious Service in PhD Defenses went to Robert McCrory, Vice Provost and Director of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and Professor of Physics.

The OSA/SPIE 2008 Joseph W. Goodman Book Writing Award went to Emil Wolf, Wilson Professor of Optical Physics and Theoretical Physics.

The Willis E. Lamb Award for Laser Science and Quantum Optics went to Robert W. Boyd, Professor of Optics and Physics.