Loading

2023 PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY AWARDS Welcome to the Purdue Physics and Astronomy Awards! Please join us as we recognize our faculty, staff, and students with awards representing excellence in the classroom, laboratory, and workplace. Awards were given on April 27, 2-3:00pm in room PHYS290.

For photos from the awards ceremony, scroll to the bottom of this page.

FACULTY AND STAFF AWARDS

Faculty Promotions

Prof. Tongcang Li promoted to full professor
Prof. Xingshan Cui promoted to Associate Professor
Prof. Danny Milisavljevic promoted to Associate Professor

Faculty Awards

Tongcang Li: Purdue University Faculty Scholar
Sanjay Rebello: Excellence in Graduate Advising
Chris Greene: Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Outstanding Graduate Teaching
Ken Ritchie: Ruth and Joel Spira Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching

Birgit Kaufmann: Purdue University Insights Forum Fellow

Staff Awards

Engagement Award from Purdue University Office of Engagement: Awarded to a staff member who has collaborated in sustained synergistic partnerships within his or her community; embodies the scholarship of engagement, not only to strengthen Purdue University, but also community partners; continually gives back, through community service, in order to improve the lives of others.

David Sederberg

Prof. Ian Arnold: College of Science Outstanding Service Award
Brandy Pinkard: College of Science Customer Service Award
Debbie Nahlik: College of Science Leadership Award
Janeen Morris: College of Science Professional Achievement Award
Jim Corwin: College of Science Outstanding Service Award
Mark Linvill: College of Science Professional Achievement Award
Mark Smith: College of Science Outstanding Service Award
Steve Plunkett: College of Science Customer Service Award
Thomas Woodruff: College of Science Leadership Award

UNDERGRADUATE AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

College of Science Outstanding Students

First Year: Spencer J. Walsh

Sophomore: Marygrace Fagan

Junior: Gabriel Goodwin

Senior: Grace Francis

Science Ambassadors Graduating Seniors

Colton Griffin

Science Diversity Office Championing Diversity Award

This Award is given to students who have been active participants in the programs sponsored by the Science Diversity Office over several years of their career at Purdue. Students participating in these programs are grown personally and professionally by taking leadership roles within the College of Science.

Melody Shimba

Purdue University Bruce Helfert Memorial Award

The Helfert Award is made possible through a gift from Sylvia Helfert in memory of her son, Bruce Helfert, a 1964 Purdue graduate. He was a surgeon at March Air Force Base in California, when he died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident.

Arianna Meenakshi McNamara

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.

Rana Yuvraj

Kenneth S. and Paula D. Krane Scholarship

Krane a 1970 PhD graduate, Professor Emeritus at Oregon St. This award recognizes outstanding academic achievement.

Marygrace Fagan

Darin Tsai (photo unavailable)

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).

Amelia R. Binau

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.

William Messman

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.

Arianna Meenakshi McNamara

Melody Shimba

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.

Mason Giacchetti

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).

Santiago Lopez

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.

Marygrace M Fagan

Nominated by Ken Ritchie

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.

Ethan Pinarski- nominated by David 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.

Colton Griffin- nominated by Xingshan Cui

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).

Olivia G. Scherrer

Raymond Glowner

John (Jay) Frandina

Suhani Sunder (no photo available)

Eliot D. Hilton (photo unavailable)

Undergraduate Merit Scholarship

Emanuel Borror (photo unavailable)

Joshua Friedman

Jack Rodgers

Ashley Ortiz

Ian Holda

Allison Loper

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.

Jack Rodgers

Nominated by Miaoyuan Liu

Science Scholarships Physics

Ashley Ortiz

Arianna Meenakshi McNamara

Allison Loper

Joshua Friedman

Santiago Lopez

Gabriel Skowronek

Leland Bednarz

Gabriel Goodwin

Jaiveer Dutta

Emanuel Borror (photo unavailable)

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.

Colton Griffin

The Astronaut Scholarship

The Astronaut Scholarship is awarded by The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF), an organization created in 1984 by the six surviving Mercury 7 astronauts. The prestigious scholarship is known nationwide for being among the highest merit-based monetary scholarships awarded to undergraduate students in science, technology, engineering and math. The scholarships are awarded to students in their junior and senior year of college. The ASF has awarded an Astronaut Scholarship to a Purdue student since 1987.

Arianna Meenakshi McNamara

Purdue Mortar Board Class of 2023 Graduate Support Award

Mortar Board annually awards graduate fellowships to encourage high-achieving Purdue students to pursue an advanced degree in graduate or professional studies. By awarding these fellowships, Mortar Board sought to benefit and recognize students who show potential leadership in their chosen field and in their community.

Bianca Caminada

John Martinson Honors College Pillar Award for Outstanding Senior

Students in the Honors College excel in a variety of areas both in and outside of the classroom as they engage in endeavors that embody the values of our curriculum. To recognize those students who have achieved above and beyond their peers or who demonstrate great promise of excellence, the Honors College annually bestows the Pillar Awards, a recognition of student work in each of the four pillars of their curriculum: Interdisciplinary Academics, Undergraduate Research, Leadership, and Community and Global Engagement.

Bianca Caminada

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.

Xingyu Gao- nominated by Tongcang Li

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.

Guangjie Li- nominated by Jukka Vayrynen

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.

Juehang Qin- nominated by Rafael Lang

Zachary Davis- nominated by Dimitrios Giannios

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.

Xinchao Zhou- nominated by Chen-Lung Hung

Lijuan Wang Award

The award is given annually to one or more outstanding graduate students who promote the gender diversity of the department.

Riya Riya- nominated by Rafael Lang

Jijun Chen- nominated by David Koltick

Bhagya Subrayan- Nominated by Danny Milisavljevic

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.

Keiichiro Furuya

Juehang Qin

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.

Robert Orlando- nominated by Andrzej Lewicki

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. This award is based on course evaluations and their teaching performance.

Razan (Rosie) Hamed

Ravishankar Subramaniam (photo unavailable)

Fellow into the Purdue University Teaching Academy

Teaching Academy at Purdue strives to bring together the best teaching faculty and graduate students across campus to create a collective voice for teaching excellence. In partnership with the Office of the Provost and the Center for Instructional Excellence, the Teaching Academy sponsors a variety of programs and activities fostering educational creativity, innovation, and effectiveness both in and outside the classroom.

Ravishankar Subramaniam (photo unavailable)

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.

Danielle Dickinson- nominated by 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.

Xingyu Gao- nominated by Tongcang Li

Ramdas Prize in Honor of Professor CV Raman

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

Keiichiro Furuya- nominated byNima Lashkari

Keiichiro’s thesis is about understanding quantum field theory and gravity from the aspects of quantum information, especially, quantum error-correction. It has been found that quantum error-correction is not just the framework for quantum technologies, but also, it helps to explain the various physical processes. He will graduate end of summer and has already secured a postdoctoral position at Northeastern University in Boston. He will continue his theoretical research on quantum gravity, many-body physics, quantum information, and their mathematical structures.

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.

Abigail Wesolek- working with Wei Xie

Rongjie Li- working with Chen-Lung Hung

Kevin Barrow- working with Ruichao (Alex) Ma

Award for Most Contribution to Our graduate Community - in Honor of Sandy Formica

For greatest contribution to the graduate community in the department of physics & astronomy.

Ranadeep Dastidar

Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship

The Bilsland Dissertation Fellowship is awarded by departments and colleges to PhD students who will enter their final year of their program. Recipients are expected to devote full-time effort to the completion of all requirements necessary to receive their doctoral degree at the conclusion of the year of funding, which includes a stipend/salary and tuition coverage.

Xingyu Gao: working with Tongcang Li

Kunaal Joshi: working with Srividya Iyer-Biswas (photo unavailable)

2022 COLLEGE OF SCIENCE AWARDS

2022 Purdue University College of Science student honors, commencement information, and commencement day procedures.

A shoutout of congratulations to the Physics and Astronomy class of 2022!

Credits:

Photos by Purdue University.