Student Awards

Undergraduate Student Luke Coffman is Awarded a 2024 Astronaut Scholarship

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 22:13:26 +0000

Undergraduate Student Luke Coffman is Awarded a 2024 Astronaut Scholarship Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/08/2024 - 16:13

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Three physics students awarded Charles A. Barth scholarships from LASP

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 22:06:13 +0000

Three physics students awarded Charles A. Barth scholarships from LASP Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 10/11/2023 - 16:06

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Five physics students awarded prestigious NSF fellowships

Anonymous — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 19:18:21 +0000

Five physics students awarded prestigious NSF fellowships Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 06/07/2023 - 13:18

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Physics Student Emma Simmerman awarded prestigious Astronaut Scholarship

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Sep 2018 23:24:52 +0000

Physics Student Emma Simmerman awarded prestigious Astronaut Scholarship Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 09/27/2018 - 17:24

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Javier Orjuela-Koop Wins People's Choice Award at Inaugural 3 Minute Thesis Competition

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Mar 2018 20:46:31 +0000

Javier Orjuela-Koop Wins People's Choice Award at Inaugural 3 Minute Thesis Competition Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/02/2018 - 13:46

View the 3MT News Article

Congratulations to Physics Grad Student Javier Orjuela-Koop for winning the People's Choice Award during the Inaugural Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition on Tuesday, February 20th.

Orjuela-Koop's Thesis, "Michael Phelps and the Early Universe" was presented using only one powerpoint slide, which was an image of Michael Phelps swimming. His presentation earned the People's Choice Award by a popular audience vote.

Orjuela-Koop said his 3 Minute Thesis naturally arose from his current research in high-energy nuclear, "We collide gold atoms at nearly the speed of light at Brookhaven National Lab, reaching temperatures at which ordinary matter becomes a liquid of quarks and gluons (the technical name is 'quark-gluon plasma'). This liquid has very peculiar properties. Namely, it has an extremely low viscosity (the lowest of any liquid in nature), yet certain kinds of particles lose substantial amounts of energy when going through it," Orjuela-Koop said. "In order to present this in three minutes, I came up with an analogy, comparing Michael Phelps to a heavy subatomic particle 'swimming' through the liquid. This was meant to provide a clear mental picture to which a general audience could relate."

Check out the video of Javier Ojruela-Koop's 3MT lecture below.

[video:https://youtu.be/S4ByqYw1dLc]

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Graduate Robert Blackwell Earns APS Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in Biological Physics

Anonymous — Tue, 21 Mar 2017 20:39:42 +0000

Graduate Robert Blackwell Earns APS Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award in Biological Physics Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/21/2017 - 14:39

Congratulations to PhD graduate Robert Blackwell for earning the 2016 Award for Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Research in Biological Physics.

“I'm honored to be in such amazing company. There isn't a much better feeling than giving your hard work to the scientific community.” Blackwell said, “Having that work recognized is almost surreal.”

Blackwell’s thesis explored the physical mechanisms underlying mitosis in fission yeast. “My focus was on a computational model for determining the mechanical roles of proteins during spindle formation,” Blackwell said.

According to their site, this APS award was established, “to recognize doctoral thesis research of outstanding quality and achievement in any area of experimental, computational, engineering, or theoretical Biological Physics, broadly construed, and to encourage effective written and oral presentation of research results.”

During his graduate work at CU ��«��Ƶ, Blackwell conducted research in the Biophysics Group under Principal Investigators Meredith Betterton and Matt Glaser.

“I don't think I could have had more ideal advisors than Matt and Meredith. Most importantly, they both provided useful discussion, technical expertise and even experimental data whenever I needed. I always had the comfort and support needed to hash out ideas and discuss the next steps,” Blackwell said. “This is a gross oversimplification, but from a personality perspective, Matt really gave me the freedom to experiment and try the things I wanted to try and see what I could find. Meredith helped keep me focused and to do the most important things first.”

“This is fantastic news for Robert and we're very proud of him.” Professor Betterton said.

“Robert’s work on the fission yeast mitotic spindle was a tour de force of computational science, involving the design, implementation, optimization, and validation of a large and complex simulation code,” Professor Glaser said. “When I first met Robert, he had minimal exposure to computational physics and numerical methods, and a limited knowledge of biophysics and bioscience. Over the intervening years, I’ve seen him develop deep expertise in these areas, and he is well positioned to become a leader in the interdisciplinary intersection of statistical physics, biological physics, computational physics, numerical analysis, and computer science.”

After graduating from CU ��«��Ƶ, Blackwell joined the Freiderich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg Institute of Theoretical Physics in Germany as a postdoctoral researcher.

As part of the award, Blackwell will deliver a presentation based on his thesis work during the 2018 APS March Meeting.

View the Award Page

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Engineering Physics Student Matthew Winchester Wins 2016 Goldwater Scholarship

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 21:24:45 +0000

Engineering Physics Student Matthew Winchester Wins 2016 Goldwater Scholarship Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/01/2016 - 15:24

Congratulations to Matthew Winchester who was awarded a 2016 Goldwater Scholarship! Matthew is majoring in Engineering Physics, and is working on an honors research project on super-radiant lasers in James Thompson’s lab.

After graduating with his undergraduate degree, Matthew plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, conducting research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics with an emphasis on precision metrology and then teach at the University level.

According to their website, The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate.

The scholarship recognizes sophomores and juniors who have achieved high academic merit and who are expected to be leaders in their fields.

Matthew is the fourth CU-Physics Goldwater Scholar in the last two years. Other recent Goldwater Scholars were Oak Nelson (Engineering Physics, 2015), Ryan Dewey (Physics and Astrophysics, 2014), and Jasmine Brewer (Engineering Physics, 2014).

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Three Engineering Physics Students Selected Outstanding Graduates of College of Engineering & Applied Science

Anonymous — Mon, 14 Mar 2016 23:36:24 +0000

Three Engineering Physics Students Selected Outstanding Graduates of College of Engineering & Applied Science Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 03/14/2016 - 17:36

Congratulations to three Engineering Physics students who have been selected as Outstanding Graduates of the College of Engineering and Applied Science for May 2016.

Outstanding Graduate of the College — Andrew "Oak" Nelson

Oak Nelson has, most recently, been working with Professor Tobin Munsat at the dust accelerator at IMPACT. During his undergraduate work, Oak spent a semester working on proton fast ignition at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany to gain experience in the highly specialized field.

As an undergraduate, he also has been a co-author on two scientific papers. He has also received the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

This is the second semester in a row that an EPEN major was selected as the Outstanding Graduate of the College. Peter Madigan was selected for that honor in December 2015.

Outstanding Graduate for Service — Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (EPEN BS/MS)

Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan has been working with Professor Margaret Murnane on studies of magnetic dynamics using ultrafast lasers. Recognizing the growing problem of pollution in India, She created a company that builds hybrid electric conversion kits for small vehicles in developing countries.

Gopalakrishnan and her team participated in CU-��«��Ƶ's New Venture Challenge, and their revolutionary hybrid kit earned the venture the Social Impact Prize, which awards $3,000 to the business that best harnesses commercial models to create social and environmental change.

Jack Olsen was selected as the Outstanding Graduate for Service in May 2014.

Outstanding Graduate for Research — Nikola Maksimovic, AMEN and EPEN

Nikola Maksimovic has been working with Professor Scott Parker on plasma physics simulations. He has been working with field aligned Fourier filtering schemes in magnetic geometry. Maksimovic was selected as the 2015 Raul and Ruth Stern Scholar, an honor awarded by the Department of Physics. Recently, he won the 2015 Oscar Buneman Award for Visualization of Plasmas during the International Conference on Numerical Plasmas in August 2015 (Pictured left with Physics Professor Scott Parker.)

This is the fourth semester in a row that an EPEN major was selected as the Outstanding Graduate for Research. The previous three were Luke Long in December 2015, Jasmine Brewer in May 2015, and Rees McNally in December 2014.

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Max Ruth Named Inaugural Gamow Scholar

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Dec 2015 18:53:28 +0000

Max Ruth Named Inaugural Gamow Scholar Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/30/2015 - 11:53

Congratulations to Max Ruth, who was selected as the inaugural Igor and Elfriede Gamow scholar. Max is an honors student in physics, and is conducting optics research with Associate Professor Thomas Schibli.

The Gamows’ gift supports undergraduate students majoring in physics, engineering physics, or astrophysics. Rustem Igor Gamow is the son of George Gamow, CU Professor of Physics from 1956-1968. Igor earned his Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Colorado in 1966. He served on the faculty of the CU Departments of Aerospace Engineering and Chemical and Biological Engineering from 1967-2004. He is the inventor of the Gamow Bag©, which has saved the lives of dozens of mountain climbers suffering from high altitude pulmonary and cerebral edema.

Elfriede Reger Gamow grew up in communist East Germany. She defected to the west in 1957 while in high school, and was awarded a scholarship to attend CU as an exchange student in 1960. She earned bachelors and masters degrees, and in 1968 was the first person to earn a Ph.D. in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from the University of Colorado. She has owned and operated Elfriede’s Fine Fabrics in ��«��Ƶ since 1974.

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Engineering Physics Student Wins 2015 Goldwater Scholarship

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 17:49:40 +0000

Engineering Physics Student Wins 2015 Goldwater Scholarship Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/16/2015 - 11:49

Congratulations to Engineering Physics student Andrew Nelson, who has been awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. The announcement was made on Wednesday, April 15th. Nelson is the third CU-Physics student to win a Goldwater Scholarship in two years.

The scholarship is worth up to $7,500 and recognizes sophomores and juniors who have achieved high academic merit and who are expected to be leaders in their fields.

Nelson is among only 260 Goldwater Scholars selected from a pool of 1,206 mathematics, science and engineering students from universities and colleges nationwide.

“In winning the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, Andrew represents the high quality of the math, science and engineering programs at CU,” said Deborah Viles, CU-��«��Ƶ’s top scholarship director. “His talent as well as the varied experiences and opportunities he’s had at CU combine to make him an emerging leader in his field. We’re very proud of Andrew, and proud that CU continues its long history of Goldwater winners.”

CU-��«��Ƶ has had at least one Goldwater Scholar every year since 2005, and Nelson is CU-��«��Ƶ’s 37th Goldwater Scholar since the award’s inception in 1989.

Nelson, a junior engineering physics major who grew up in ��«��Ƶ, became interested in studying fusion as an energy source after attending a campus talk hosted by the Department of Physics and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he also worked as a student in a laboratory.

“We have a really, really strong physics department, and learning everything I need to know in my classes has made it really easy to apply that knowledge to research in a lab,” Nelson said. “My position at NIST also helped me learn a lot of lab skills that you wouldn’t necessarily get in class.”

Over the course of 50-plus years, CU-��«��Ƶ has formed highly productive research partnerships with national laboratories, including NIST, located in the ��«��Ƶ area. Collaborative efforts include large joint institutes with hundreds of scientists as well as university departmental appointments of adjoint faculty from the national laboratories. The national labs also provide numerous internships for undergraduates and graduate students.

Nelson spent a semester last year working on proton fast ignition at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany to gain experience in the highly specialized field. As an undergraduate, he also has been a co-author on two scientific papers.

Outside of his schoolwork and research, Nelson is president of the campus chapter of Engineers Without Borders, with which he traveled to Rwanda last summer to build a rainwater catchment system for a small village.

He also plays Ultimate Frisbee for CU-��«��Ƶ’s club sports team Mambird, which won the national championship last year.

“CU-��«��Ƶ has so many clubs and programs to join, it has really been huge for me to have these outlets and to hang out with people that I can really relate to,” Nelson said.

Nelson plans to pursue a PhD in plasma physics where he hopes to conduct research related to developing nuclear fusion technologies as a practical and reliable commercial energy source.

Viles said she encourages high-achieving students with strong research backgrounds to apply for a Goldwater Scholarship next year. To apply, interested students should contact Viles atdeborah.viles@colorado.edu for more information.

View the University of Colorado, ��«��Ƶ news release.

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