Scholarships and Awards

Robert S. Hyer Award of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society

The , of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society, is  presented each year to one recipient who must have been an undergraduate student when the research was performed, and that student's research advisor. The only criterion is excellence, including potential impact in the relevant scientific community. Robert S. Hyer was a physicist and founding President of 51²è¹Ý.

Award Winners

Year  Student Name   Faculty Name
 2020  Noah Pearson Joel Meyers 
 2014  Mayisha Nakib  Jodi Cooley 
 2013 Landon Banister   Stephen Sekula

 

Frank C. McDonald Memorial Award

Frank C. McDonald memorial award based on merit in memory of Dr. Frank C. McDonald, chair of the Physics Department from 1941- 1962.

Prof. McDonald was remembered by his students for engaging them in the struggle to understand physics concepts and solve problems using those concepts. It wasn't about memorizing equations; it was about understanding what they meant in order to solve new problems or create new knowledge.

Award Winners

Year

Name

2024 Xixi Zhou 
2023  George Guckenberger 
2022

Mitchell Schmenk

2021  Jason Keyzer 
2020  Noah Pearson 

2019

Sean Doyle

2018

Sean Doyle, Payton Price

2017

Jasmine Liu

2016

Ify Achu

2015

Matthew Bruemmer

2014

Daniel Gum

2013

Joshua Abramovitch, Ben Wise

2012

Matthew Rispoli, Dennis Stanley

2011

Landon Banister

2010

Don Davis, Kelly Pearson

2009

Ken Ueda

2008

Alex Weckiewicz

2007

Charles Taylor
and Paul Hartin

2006

Zachary Parvin

2005

Anna Stelzenmuller
and Charles Taylor

2004

Joe Mahoney
Brandon Reimer

2003

Graham Everitt
Michael Bligh 

2002

Eric Reiman

2001

Alonso Gutierrez
and Chad Myers

2000

Martina Kolmeder
Clifford Yapp

1999

April Kramer
and Shannon Thornton

1998

Joe Parker Cravens
and Joe Williams

1997

Melissa Smith
and Elizabeth Rittenberg

1996

Jason Parker Cravesn

1995

Jason Cain

1994

Stephen Ornes

1993

Kelly O'Neil

1991

Christopher Myatt

1990

Hugo Perrez

1989

John Victor Ray

1988

Gary J. Baker
and John Victor Ray

1986

Joe Pierce Holder

1985

James Spicer

1983

Anton Dreher

1981

Keith Verges


Robert Stewart Hyer Scholarship in Physics Award

Robert Stewart Hyer, Physicist and First President of 51²è¹Ý.

Awarded to a student who performs at the highest academic level. In memory of Robert S. Hyer, physicist and first President of 51²è¹Ý.

Robert Stewart Hyer was regarded in the physics community for his work with x-rays and wireless communication. He is the first American ever known to have transmitted a signal wirelessly over a distance of about 1 mile. He did this within a year of Heinrich Hertz's discovery of electromagnetic waves. Such experiments set the stage for the modern wireless communication revolution. President Hyer was one of the founders of 51²è¹Ý and his hand in the formation of our university can be seen across the campus, even today, as he set the standards still cherished by students at 51²è¹Ý: the school colors (Yale Blue and Harvard Crimson), the composition of the brick used in the campus architecture, and the design of Dallas Hall. Hyer served as a member of the faculty of 51²è¹Ý until he passed away in 1929.

Award Winners

Year

Name

2024  Joshua Ange, Hannah Siegel 
2023  Amy Hermann 
2022 Jason Keyzer 
2021  Noah Pearson 
2020  Jared Burleson, Taylor Wallace 

2019

Rebecca Moore

2018

Robert Schmidt

2017

Joshua Bedsole, Andrew Posada

2016

Nicole Hartman

2015

Mayisha Nakib, Rafael Sierra

2014

Benjamin Wise

2013

Landon Banister

2012

Santosh Adhikari

2011

Matthew Rispoli

2010

Mariam Ishaque

2009

Amy Hand

2008

Kelvin Varghese

2007

Kristin Schild
and Kelvin Varghese

2006

Rozmin Daya
and Paul Hartin

2005

Zachary Parvin
and Elise Voicu-Comendant

2004

Michael Shearn

2003

Alonso Gutierrez

2002

Shannon Thornton
and Chad Myers

2001

Eric Reiman

2000

Eric Morgan

1999

Curry Taylor

1998

Melissa Smith

1997

Kevin Yarritu

1996

Samuel Williams

1995

Graham Moore

1994

Carl Elliston

1993

Carl Elliston

1992

Jonothan Pryer

1991

Temesgen Demissie

1990

Mia Beth Kurth

1989

Mia Beth Kurth

1986

Joe Pierce Holder

1985

James Spicer

1981

Keith Verges


Katherine Sams Wiley Physics Scholarship

Wiley Scholarship recipient Jasmine Liu (left) poses with Mrs. Wiley (right) in 2017.

Award based on merit to students at the sophomore level or above who are majoring in physics, with attention to women focused on science and engineering.

Award Winners

Year

Name

2023  Andrea Reyes, Skye Saltzman 
2022  Amy Hermann 
2021 Amy Hermann 
2020  Stephanie Gilchrist, Abigail Hays

2019

Taylor Wallace, Xixi Zhou

2018

Rebecca Moore, Taylor Wallace

2017

Jasmine Kim, Jasmine Liu, Christina McConville

2016

Jasmine Kim, Jasmine Liu

2015

Ashleigh Miller

2014

Nicole Hartman

2013

Mayisha Zeb Nakib

2012

Holly Howard


Jeff Chalk Physics Award

Given in honor of former 51²è¹Ý physics professor Dr. Jeff Chalk to a student who embodies Dr. Chalk’s passion for promoting the learning of physics.

Professor Jeff Chalk earned his PhD in Physics from University of Colorado in Boulder and served as a member of the 51²è¹Ý Physics Faculty for over 30 years. During that time, he had a tremendous influence on the teaching of physics and on the lives of students who took his classes. He was especially famous for dramatic demonstrations of core physics ideas. "He drinks liquid nitrogen!" exclaimed one student in a teaching evaluation. Jeff had a passion for physics that informed his teaching and inspired learning in his students.

Award Winners

Year

Name

2024  Kshounish Bhadra-Bhaduri 
2023  Hannah Siegel 
2022  Amy Hermann 
2021  David (Tyler) Blake, Jared Burleson 
2020  Xixi Zhou

2019

Taylor Wallace

2018

Rebecca Moore

2016

Jasmine Kim

2016

Ashleigh Miller

2015

Nicole Hartman

2014

Mayisha Zeb Nakib

2013

Matthew Rispoli

2012

Joshua Abramavitch

 

Physics Undergraduate Scholarship

2024  Christopher Cook 
2023  Joshua Ange, Andrea Reyes 
2022  George Guckenberger 
2021 Amy Hermann 
2020  Ryan Guess, Alexander Wallace 

2019

Chris Newey, Xixi Zhou

2018

Jared Burleson, Chris Newey

 

Hamilton Undergraduate Research Scholars

The Hamilton Scholars Program provides awards to faculty to support paid, hands-on research experiences for Dedman College undergraduate students. These awards enable them to collaborate with top faculty researchers and contribute to the creation of cutting-edge knowledge.

Award Winners
Year Student Name  Mentors 
2023   Ruhani Ahluwalia  Alexander Chase
   Joshua Ange  Joel Meyers
   Christopher Cook  Robert Kehoe
2022   Joshua Ange  Joel Meyers
   Amy Hermann  Monnie McGee
   Noah Randall  Steve Sekula
   John Ridge  Robert Kehoe
2021  Faith Fang  Jodi Cooley

 Stephanie Gilchrist  Stephen Sekula
   Ryan Guess  Pavel Nadolsky
   Andrea Reyes  Krista Lynne Smith
   John Ridge  Bob Kehoe
2020  Ryan Guess  Jingbo Ye
   Noah Pearson  Joel Meyers
   Andrew Reis  Allison Deiana
   Taylor Wallace  Jodi Cooley
2019  Ian Cohen, Elijah Cruda, Ahmed Muhammad, Zhengguang Wang

 James Thomas, Andy Liu, Jingbo Ye

 

Rebecca Moore  

Stephen Sekula 

 

Taylor Wallace 

Jodi Cooley 
2018  Rachael LaCour   Jodi Cooley 
  Jasmine Liu  Robert Kehoe 
  Christina McConville  Robert Kehoe 
  Madeline Hamilton  Pavel Nadolsky 
2017  Moez Janmohammad  Stephen Sekula 
  Jasmine Liu  Robert Kehoe 
  Snigda Smriti  Jodi Cooley 
2016 Andrew Posada   Jodi Cooley 
  Moez Janmohammad  Jodi Cooley 
  Nicole Hartman  Stephen Sekula 
2015  Matthew Bruemmer  Jodi Cooley, Stephen Sekula
  Daniel Gum Robert Kehoe 
  Ashleigh Miller  Jingbo Ye 

 

Robert Mayer Undergraduate Research Fellows

The Mayer Undergraduate Research Fellows Program has the goal of supporting Dedman College undergraduate students in pursuing ambitious interdisciplinary research with two faculty mentors from different disciplines, which integrates the perspectives of their major(s) and/or minor(s).

Award Winners

Year Student Name Mentors
2023 Joshua Ange Rajani Sudan, Eric Godat
2019 Xixi Zhou Fred Olness, Pawet Knuk