For photos from the awards ceremony, scroll to the bottom of this page.
FACULTY AWARDS
Faculty Promotions to Full Professor
Retirements
Other Faculty Awards
UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
College of Science Outstanding Students
First Year: Jaiveer Dutta (photo unavailable)
Sophomore: Meenakshi McNamara
Junior: Colton Griffin
Senior: Justin Copenhaver
Science Ambassadors Graduating Seniors
Allison Earnhardt
Nicole Osborn (photo unavailable)
Championing Diversity Award
Claire Landgraf (photo unavailable)
Arthur N. Pozner Scholarship
Arthur Pozner, a 1950 BS in Physics, worked in aerospace industry on surveyor probes, Boeing 737, B-2 stealth bomber, and Boeing 777. This memorial award recognizes outstanding academic achievement.
Meenakshi McNamara
Kenneth S. and Paula D. Krane Scholarship
Krane a 1970 PhD graduate, Professor Emeritus at Oregon St. This award recognizes outstanding academic achievement.
Leland Bednarz
Gabriel Goodwin
David G. Seiler Physics Scholarship
David Seiler was the College of Science Distinguished Alumni Awardee in year 2000 for his semiconductor physics leadership. This award recognizes an outstanding physics upperclassman who is involved in Women in Science or Women in Physics programs. This scholarship is possible due to the generosity of Dr. David G. Seiler (PhD 1969).
Grace Francis
Frederik J. Belinfante Scholarship in Physics
Frederick Belinfante was a professor at Purdue as well as a quantum theory and cosmology specialist. While a student he co-authored a paper with Wolfgang Pauli. This scholarship made possible by the generosity of Robert Newcomb (BS 1955) and recognizes outstanding academic achievement.
Colton Griffin
Margie and Don Bottorff Physics Scholarship
This scholarship was founded be Celeste Bottorff (BS 75) in honor of her parents. Celeste was VP of Global Health and Wellbeing Initiatives for the Coca-Cola company. Now she is Chief Marketing Officer of Hire Dynamics. This award recognizes outstanding academic achievement.
Faith K. Bergin
Braden L. Garretson
Dr. Robert L. Mieher Physics Scholarship
Robert Mieher was department head in 1977-88 and an expert in magnetic resonance techniques. He retired in 2002 and passed away in 2007. This scholarship recognizes outstanding academic achievement and is made possible through the generosity of Drs. Edward and Barbara Hale, both PhD Physics graduates.
Joshua Friedman
Shalim and Paul Sargis Memorial Scholarship
The Sargis Scholarship recognizes a physics upperclassman from outside the state of Indiana who also graduated from a U.S. high school and is made possible due to the generosity of Dr. James Sargis (BS 1958).
Gabriel Skowronek
Lijuan Wang Memorial Award
The Lijuan Wang Memorial award is given annually to one or more outstanding undergraduate physics majors who promote the gender diversity of the department through participation in Women in Physics. Lijuan Wang was a graduate student in the department from 1989 until her untimely death in 1992.
Bianca Caminada- nominated by Prof. Ritchie
Meenakshi McNamara- nominated by Prof. Jung
Ralph Lefler Memorial Award
This award recognizes outstanding undergrads who have demonstrated interest or commitment in teaching K-12 programs as well as outreach programs. Lefler was a pioneer of physics education at Purdue and this award is made possible due to the generosity of a group of his former students.
Benjamin D. Simon- nominated by Prof. Liu
Alan Jeffrey Wright- nominated by Dr. Sederberg
Ramdas Award
The Ramdas Award was established in 2018 by Anant K. Ramdas, the Lark-Horovitz Distinguished Professor of Physics and his wife, Vasanti Ramdas. The purpose of the Ramdas Award is to recognize an exceptional senior who has completed a unique project in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Justin Copenhaver- nominated by Prof. Vayrynen
Judith Peters Humnicky Memorial Award
Judith Peters Humnicky was relentless in pursuit of her goals and this award honors her memory by recognizing the persistence, diligence, and hard work necessary to obtain an undergraduate degree in physics. This award is made possible due to the generosity of Mr. Michael Humnicky (BS 1970).
Cameron Shane
Nicholas Sylvester
Erin Smith
Grace Katz
Amelia Binau (photo unavailable)
Undergraduate Merit Scholarship
Chandler Albright
Peter Salisbury
Bahaa Elshimy
Ashley Ortiz
Amit Rajapurohita
Danny Kim
Joel Spira Undergraduate Summer Research Award
This award supports students working on a research project under the supervision of a faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. The Spira Summer Research Award is made possible thanks to the generosity of Dr. Joel S. (BS 1948) and Mrs. Ruth R. Spira. Joel Spira is the founder of Lutron. This year's award will fund work with Prof. Ritchie on project looking at the effects of environmental monovalent salt concentration on the folding/unfolding dynamics of single proteins.
Bianca Caminada
EXTERNAL UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS
NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program (GRFP)
The NSF GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported STEM disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions. The five-year fellowship includes three years of financial support including an annual stipend of $34,000 and a cost of education allowance of $12,000 to the institution.
Allison Earnhardt
Swagat Bhattacharyya (photo unavailable)
Barry Goldwater Scholarship
The scholarship, which was created in 1986 in honor of the late Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, is considered one of the most prestigious scholarships available to undergraduate students studying natural science, engineering, or mathematics.
Meenakshi McNamara- Mentor(s): Ephraim Fischbach, Andreas Jung, and Rolando de Santiago. Career Goal: Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics and conduct research in quantum gravity and teach at the university level.
Colton Griffin- Mentor(s): Thomas Sinclair, Kiril Datchev, and Xingshan Cui. Career Goal: Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics and conduct research in quantum information theory and quantum algebra as a professor.
GRADUATE STUDENT AWARDS
Dr. Warner L. Black Award
This award is given for practical Accomplishments in Physics by Ms. Lona Black Koltick (Prof. Koltick’s late mother) in memory of her grandfather, Dr. Warner Black. As a medical doctor, farmer, peacemaker, politician, teacher, and a man that served the poor and needy, this award will be given to a physicist that is most likely, in a similar way, bring physics to the people and help them improve their lives by using a deep knowledge of fundamental and applied physics.
Francis Walz- nominated by Prof. Shivaram
Edward S. Akeley Award
The Akeley Award is made possible through the generosity of Instructor Emeritus Anna M. Akeley and recognizes outstanding physics graduate students in theoretical physicists.
Keiichiro Furuya- nominated by Prof. Nima Lashkari
George W. Tautfest Award
This award honors outstanding physics graduate students in high energy particle physics, high energy nuclear physics, or astrophysics. Prof. Tautfest was the leader of the Purdue High Energy Physics group until his death in 1967 at age 41. The award was established in 1969 by his colleagues and the Purdue Alumni Foundation.
Keiichiro Furuya- nominated by Prof. Nima Lashkari
Dmitry Kondratyev- nominated by Prof. Norbert Neumeister
H.Y. Fan Award
The Fan Award recognizes outstanding graduate research in condensed matter physics, biological physics, or AMO. The award was established in recognition of Prof. Fan’s many contributions to condensed matter physics, particularly in the area of infrared studies of semiconductors, and to the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Sean Myers- nominated by Prof. Gabor Csathy
Lijuan Wang Award
The award is given annually to one or more outstanding graduate students who promote the gender diversity of the department.
Kiranmayi Dixit- nominated by Prof. Arnab Banerjee
Norhan Eassa- nominated by Prof. Arnab Banerjee
Amanda Depoian-Baxter- Nominated by Prof. Rafael Lang
Charlotte Ida Litman Tubis Award
The Charlotte Ida Litman Tubis Award was established in her memory by her husband, to promote clear and concise communication of scientific ideas beyond the physics and astronomy community. Prof. Arnold Tubis was our Department Head 1989-1997.
Amanda Depoian-Baxter
Akeley-Mandler Award for Teaching Excellence
The Akeley-Mandler Award recognizes exceptional graduate student teaching assistants who excel beyond the mere requirements of the job, investing their effort to ensure that they provide the best education possible to their students. This award is made possible thanks to a gift made by Instructor Emeritus Anna Akeley in memory of her husband, Prof. Edward S. Akeley, and brother, Kurt Mandler.
Dewan Woods- nominated by Dr. Andrzej Lewicki
Gabriele F. Giuliani Award
Established in 2013 in memory of Prof. Gabriele F. Giuliani, this award honors excellence in teaching by first- or second-year graduate students. These graduate students show dedication and dependability, and, like Professor Giuliani, demonstrate a passion for physics that contributes to a rich learning environment.
Jared Newton- nominated by Dr. Andrzej Lewicki
Karl Lark-Horovitz Award
The Lark-Horovitz Award recognizes outstanding research accomplishments. The award is possible through the generosity of the faculty as well as the family, friends, and associates of Prof. Lark-Horovitz in memory of his great contribution to the growth and development of the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
Chenwei Lv- nominated by Prof. Qi Zhou
Raman Prize
The Raman Prize recognizes a Ph.D. student or recent alumni for an outstanding dissertation. The Raman Prize was established in 2018 by Anant K. Ramdas, the Lark-Horovitz Distinguished Professor (Emeritus) of Physics and Astronomy, and his wife Vasanti Ramdas to honor Anant's professor, Nobel Laureate Sir C. V. Raman
Dr. Abigail Kopec- nominated by Prof. Rafael Lang. She is Post-doctoral fellow at the UC San Diego and her research area is: "Rare Event Searches in Liquid Xenon Time Projection Chambers."
Rolf Scharenberg Graduate Summer Research Fellowship
This Fellowship was established in 2017 through the generosity of Wendell and Nancy Lutz and allows 1st- or 2nd-year graduate students to work with a research advisor for a summer prior to joining a research group permanently.
Danielle Dickinson- working with Prof. Milisavljevic
Sai Satyam Samal- working with Prof. Vayrynen
Hongshan Xu- working with Prof. Liu
GRADUATE AWARDS PRESENTED PREVIOUS TO THIS CELEBRATION
Teaching Academy Graduate Teaching Award for Physics and Astronomy
This award honors graduate students with teaching responsibilities from across campus for their dedication to Purdue students and their outstanding teaching contributions.
Amanda Depoian-Baxter
Robert Orlando (photo unavailable)
2022 Lee Osheroff Richardson (LOR) Science Prize
The Lee Osheroff Richardson Science Prize promotes and recognizes the novel work of young scientists working in the fields of low temperatures and/or high magnetic fields or surface science in North and South America.
Dr. James Nakamura- PhD Advisor: Prof. Manfra. James is recognized for the first direct observation of anyonic braiding statistics for quasiparticles at the v=1/3 fractional quantum Hall state.
Springer Thesis Award
The series “Springer Theses” brings together a selection of the very best Ph.D. theses from around the world and across the physical sciences.
Dr. Cheng-An Chen (photo unavailable)- PhD Advisor: Prof. Hung. Thesis: Probing Nonequilibrium Dynamics in Two Dimensional Quantum Gases
2022 COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AWARDS
2022 Purdue University College of Science student honors, commencement information, and commencement day procedures.
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Credits:
Photos by Purdue University.