Class of 2010 Graduates with Many Honors

May 29, 2010

Congratulations to the 2010 graduates of the Department of Physics and Astronomy!

  • Bachelor's Degrees
    13 students earned BS degrees in Physics
    6 students earned BA degrees in Physics
    7 students earned BS degrees in Physics and Astronomy
  • Master's Degrees
    2 students earned MS degrees in Physics
    18 students earned MA degrees in Physics
  • PhD Degrees
    11 students earned PhD degrees in Physics
    1 student earned a PhD degree in Physics and Optics

 

    Bachelor's Degrees

    Class of 2010. Click for a high-resolution image.

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

    NameDegrees EarnedAdditional Awards
    Zibran N. AhmedBA Physics, BA Philosophy  
    Gregory S. BentsenBarry M. Goldwater Scholarship
    Bradley G. ChristensenBS Physics,
    BS Mathematics  
    John F. Flagg Award
    Phi Beta Kappa
    Martin J. CollinsBS Physics,
    BS Computer Science
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Austen M. EricksonFulbright Award
    Take 5 Scholar
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Andrew T. GalkiewiczBS Physics,
    BA Mathematics  
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    John K. GoldenBS Physics,
    Honors BA Mathematics
    Fulbright Award
    Undergraduate Teaching Award
    Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
    Phi Beta Kappa
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Alexander F. GreenBS Physics,
    BA Mathematics

     

    Joseph J. KachinskyBA Physics,
    BS Computer Science,
    BA Mathematics
    Victor M. KucherovBS Physics  Sigma Pi Sigma
    Jonathan A. KurvitsBS Physics,
    BA Mathematics
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Krista L. LombardoTake 5 Scholar
    Dale I. McElhoneBS Physics,
    BM Eastman School of Music  
    Fulbright Award
    Randy D. MehlenbacherBS Physics,
    BS Chemistry
    Eric C. MerensteinBA Physics,
    BS Mathematics
    Kyle B. OdellBA Physics,
    BA American Sign Language
    Jordan B. ParkerKaufmann's Entrepreneurial Year (KEY)
    Roshita RamkhalawonBS Physics
    Jessica M. RedmonBA Physics
    Adi RobinsonBS Physics,
    BA Chemistry
    Patrick D. SheehanBarry M. Goldwater Scholarship
    Christopher M. Sheldon-DanteBS Physics,
    BA Mathematics
    Tyle C. StelzigTake 5 Scholar
    Phi Beta Kappa
    Aleksey StrelnikovBS Physics,
    BA Mathematics
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Raisa TrubkoBA Physics,
    BS Optics
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Danielle M. WeddeTake 5 Scholar
    Laura A. ArnoldBS Physics and AstronomyUndergraduate Teaching Award
    Academic Exchange Service: Research Internship in Science and Engineering (RISE) Scholarship
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Kyle T. AusfeldBS Physics and Astronomy,
    BA Mathematics
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Micaela B. BagleyBS Physics and AstronomyPhi Beta Kappa
    Sigma Pi Sigma
    Julianna B. HopkinsBS Physics and AstronomySigma Pi Sigma
    Krista L. LomdardoBS Physics and Astronomy,
    BA Mathematics  
    Valerie A. RapsonBS Physics and AstronomySigma Pi Sigma
    Sarah M. SmithBS Physics and Astronomy

    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.

    Masters Degrees

    NameDegree Earned
    Elizabeth A. PollockMS, Physics
    John R. SerafiniMS, Physics
    Daniel J. AmbroseMA, Physics
    Edward W. Cramp, Jr.MA, Physics
    Brian E. EichmanMA, Physics
    Yossof EshaqMA, Physics
    Azure L. HansenMA, Physics
    Seyed Mohammad Hashemi RafsanjaniMA, Physics
    Wei LaiMA, Physics
    Yi-Ming LaiMA, Physics
    Tanya MalhotraMA, Physics
    Alexander J. MooreMA, Physics
    Amanda J. NeukirchMA, Physics
    Levi P. NeukirchMA, Physics
    Ryan C. NoraMA, Physics
    Mark J. PecautMA, Physics
    Alexander J. ShvonskiMA, Physics
    Dhara TrivediMA, Physics
    Gerardo I. VizaMA, Physics
    Jeremy A. WolcottMA, Physics

    Graduate Awards

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

    The American Association of Physics Teachers Award, won by Bethany J. Little and Fred E. Moolekamp, is an annual prize awarded by the Department for excellent performance as a workshop, recitation, or laboratory instructor.

    The Susumu Okubo Prize, won by Seyed Mohammad Hashemi Rafsanjani, 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 Fan Yang, is an annual prize awarded by the Department in recognition of an exception PhD dissertation in high-energy nuclear or particle physics.

    PhD Degrees

    NameDegree EarnedDissertation Title and Advisor
    Daniel P. BerdinePhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Selected Phenomenological Contributions in Preparation for the Running of the Large Hadron Collider

    Thesis adviser: Lynne Orr

    Jose Ricardo Betancourt BenítezPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Cone Beam Computed Tomography: Development of System Characterization Metrics and Applications

    Thesis advisers: Ruola Ning and Yongli Gao

    Weixing CaiPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Investigation of Phase-Contrast Cone Beam CT Imaging Systems

    Thesis advisers: Ruola Ning and Yongli Gao

    Huanjun DingPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Surface and Interface Studies of Organic Semiconductors

    Thesis adviser: Yongli Gao

    Christopher HaimbergerPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Photoassociation of Ultracold NaCs

    Thesis adviser: Nicholas Bigelow

    Zhuo JiangPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Transverse Modes in Large-Mode-Area Fibers

    Thesis advisers: John Marciante and Nicholas Bigelow

    Brijesh PrithvirajPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Collimation of Electrons Via Three-Dimensional Spatial Intensity Shaping of Laser Focal Volume

    Thesis adviser: David Meyerhofer

    Fan YangPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: D Meson Hadronic Decays at CLEO-c

    Thesis adviser: Edward Thorndike

    Jeong-Hoon YangPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: An Empirical Model for the Interaction of Ultraintense Laser Pulses with Fully Ionized Plasmas Including Electrostatic Effects

    Thesis advisers: R. Stephen Craxton and Nicholas Bigelow

    Muhammed YonacPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Bipartite Qubit Entanglement Under Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics

    Thesis adviser: Joseph Eberly

    Geum Bong YuPhD, Physics

    Dissertation: Search for Charged Higgs Bosons in Decays of Top Quarks in Proton Antiproton Collisions at Sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV

    Thesis adviser: Arie Bodek

    Jonathan C. PetruccelliPhD, Physics and Optics

    Dissertation: Generalized Wigner Functions

    Thesis advisers: Miguel Alonso and Emil Wolf

    Faculty Awards

    This year's Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching went to Andrew N. Jordan, Professor of Physics, and Alice C. Quillen, Professor of Physics and Astronomy.

    The Professor of the Year Award in the Natural Sciences went to Steven L. Manly, Professor of Physics .

    The 2010 Ives Medal of the Optical Society of America went to Joseph H. Eberly, Andrew Carnegie Professor of Physics and Professor of Optics.

    The 2010 G. G. Stokes Award of the International Society for Optical Engineering went to Emil Wolf, Wilson Professor of Optical Physics and Theoretical Physics.

    The NSF Young Investigator Award went to Andrew N. Jordan, Professor of Physics.

    The 2010 J. J. Sakurai Prize for Theoretical Particle Physics went to C. Richard Hagen, Professor of Physics.