Undergraduate Awards (Draft)

Majors in the physics department are eligible for a number of annual awards offered by the department. Please see below to learn about specific awards and past winners.

The Lannutti Award

The Lannutti Award recognizes excellence in undergraduate research. It was first awarded in 2009. This award is coupled with the annual Physics Department Undergraduate Poster Session that takes place each spring during Honors Week.

Recipients

2023: Wonmin Song, Bajron Zenelaj and Ethan Todd

2022: Diya Choudhary, Ty Wilson and Rebecca Van Gelder

2021: Justin Marquez, Jane Case and Meg van Deventer

2020: Gillian Boyce, Fabio Rivero and Maarten de Haan

2019: Zachary Goraum

2018: Robert Goff

2017: Amelia Estry, Linsey Rodenbach and Kyle Romines (no poster session)

2016: Andrew Hurley (with Volker Crede); Austin Skeeters (with Todd Adams); Hannah Holt (with Ingo Wiedenhoever); Megan Wheeler (with Andrew Askew)

2015: Stephen Crothers (with Steve Hill, B. Trociewitz (NHFML) and S. Stoian (NHFML)); Madeline Austin (with Ingo Wiedenhoever); Ezra Brooker (with David Collins)

2014: Enmanuel Sanchez (with Keivan Stassun, Vanderbilt University); Dennice Roberts (with James Brooks); Spencer Jones (with Todd Adams)

2013: Kelly Ann Pawlak (with Ziad Musslimani, Department of Mathematics); Ashley Huff (with Susan Blessing); Kyle Serniak (with Irinel Chiorescu)

2012: Daniel Moerland (with Ingo Wiedenhoever); Andrew Wray (with Robert Walsh, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory); Ashley Huff (with Susan Blessing)

2011: Kristen Collar (with Stan Tozer, NHMFL); Morgan Askins (with Nikolai Tolich, University of Michigan); Julia Bourg (with Efrosini Artikis and Bradley Groveman, College of Medicine)

2010: Julia Bourg (with Bradley Groveman, Patrice Williams and Ewa Bienkiewicz, College of Medicine); Rutger Dungan (with Harrison Prosper); Alison Pawlicki (with Maitri Warusawithana)

2009: Kristen Collar (with Stan Tozer, NHMFL); Alison Pawlicki (with Chris Wiebe); David Page (with Susanne Cappendijk, College of Medicine)

The Günter Schwarz Memorial Scholar Award

Günter Schwarz was a talented musician and a particularly fine pianist. He encouraged all of the FSU undergraduate physics majors to take as many courses as possible in music and related arts areas. The Günter Schwarz Memorial Scholar Award is given to students who have outstanding records in physics, have completed at least 90 credit hours towards the major, and have participated significantly in the music and/or related arts.

Recipients

2023: Jack Lyons

2022: Christina Schiffert, James Sullivan and Shelby Arrigo

2021: Matthew de Jong

2020: Meg van Deventer and Gillian Boyce

2019: Adam Kobert

2017: Savannah Mitchem, singing, violin

2016: Kenneth Hanselman, marching band, concert band

2015: Charlotte Welch, music major

2014: Drew Blankstein, Glee Club, music theory and voice training

2013: Taylor Hynds, trumpet, music instruction

2012: Daniel Scott Davis, Men's Glee Club

2011: Brett Gardner, guitar, jazz and chamber ensemble

2010: Jared Doster, organ

2009: Steven Dolly, Marching Chiefs, concert band and Men's Glee Club.

2008: Keenan Pepper, Alexander Long and Shawn Havery

2005: Caroline Carpentieri, Marching Chiefs and concert band

2004: Jose Valery, classical guitar

2003: Juliette Victoria, degree in music

The Lynn Shannon Proctor Award

Lynn Shannon Proctor was a physics major at FSU when she died in an automobile accident. To honor her memory, her family established the Lynn Shannon Proctor Award in the Department of Physics. The award is for an applicant or outstanding student in the undergraduate or graduate program in physics. The recipient must be a member of an ethnic or gender group that is underrepresented in physics.

Recipients

2021: Giovanni Franco-Rivera

2020: Zain Abhari

2017: Hannah Holt

2016: Madeline Austin

2015: Megan Matthews

2014: Dennice Roberts

2013: Ashley Huff

2012: Alicia Gomez

2011: Kristen Collar

2010: Amy Rouinfar

2009: Alison Pawlicki

2008: Bernadette Cogswell

2007: Amy Crisp

2006: Rhiannon Meharchand

2005: Danielle Stroup

2004: Lisi Goodlet

2003: Stacy Pouliot

Sigma Pi Sigma (ΣΠΣ)

ΣΠΣ is the National Honor Society of the Society for Physics Students (SPS). For induction, students must have completed 90 hours of course work, maintained a GPA of at least 3.5 GPA (juniors) or 3.20 (seniors) in physics courses, and have demonstrated a strong and hopefully abiding interest in physics. The names of all National Honor Society invitees are shown below. The names of those who accepted the invitation are shown in bold.

ΣΠΣ Invitees

2023: Adam Agonoy, Sophia Amidi, Scott Baker, Richard Martin Brunner, Corey Downs, Michael Fredock, Ian Cameron Smith Hay, Alex Judge, Sophia Korte, Robert Laughlin, Kevin M. Liguori, Jack Lyons, Lexington Mandachi, Dillon Michael McClure, Moises Medina Restrepo, Adam Mooers, Drew Smith, Abigail Willis, Lucas Paul Wilson

2022: Jackson Barber, Shelby Arrigo, Ryan Goodrich, Ethan Walling Todd, Darian Reece DiScenza, Lucas Paul Wilson, Peter H. McGoron, Ashlyn Langford, James Sullivan

2021: Zain Abhari, Michael Burns, Matthew DeJong, Francisco Gallo, Ryan Goodrich, Ashlyn Langford, Gary Ragsdale, Enrique Roman, Christina Schiffert, Jacob Strack, James Sullivan, Meg van Deventer, Rebecca Van Gelder, Lee Wall, Ty Wilson

2020: Fabio Rivero, Matthew Feria, Dakota Clay Bosch, Michael Louis Campanella, Kirsty Marie Scott, Thomas Jacob Murphy, Zachary Goraum, Erick Yanes, Maarten Alexander De Haan, Xavier Alejandro Quintana, Shae Machlus, Kenneth Dylan Johnson, Zachary Patrick Sirmans, Evan Martin Hargett, Anthony Joseph Micciche, Chika Onubogu, Janiris Rodriguez, Alex Knaff, Joseph Henry Peetz, Lee Monroe Wall, Zachary Robert Beach, Blake McFarland, Graham O' Donnell, Justin Marquez

2019: Marcus Dupont, Jennifer Ann Sittler, Rebecca Haley Reid, Aodhan John Sweeney, Robert Michael Goff, Admir Sehovic, Austin Hunter Reaves, Sarah Emilee Dodamead, Benjamin J Gibson, Kyle Scott Kehrer, Douglas Patrick Schoedl, Michael Louis Campanella, Zachary Patrick Sirmans, Evan Martin Hargett, Joseph Henry Peetz, Marteen Alexander De Haan, Zachary Goraum

2018: Kelly Anderson, Adam Kobert, Juan Martinez, Kirsty Scott, Orion Yeung, Jessica Koros, Alexander Messick, Lucas Denny, Dakota Bosch, Savannah Mitchem

2017: Griffin Macinnes Bradford, Eric C. Britt, Zachary Phillip Freeman, Thaxter Cole Hensley, Leon Hostetler, James Dylan Kolb-Bond, Thomas Matthew McNulty, Robert Dustin Orlando, Kyle Griffith Romines, Alejandro Mario Sanchez, Thomas Aurum Sims, Jordan Alexander Smith, Lara Gabrielle Zygala

2016: Madeline Austin, Craig Bolles, Corey Brummel-Smith, Miles Curry, Amelia Estry, Paul Eugenio, David Fink, Kenneth Hanselman, Hannah Holt, Linsey Rodenbach, Alex Saperstein, Charlotte Welch, Anna Yannakopolous

2015: Ivan Castanon, Myles Gorder, Brett-Michael Green, Emmet Harrington, Andrew Hurley, Dayshon Mathis, Megan Matthews, David Paz, Kaitlin Rasmussen, Gabriel Vasquez, Anthony Young

2014: Hampton Black, Drew Blankstein, Spencer Jones, Sam Kahla, Aaron Magilligan, Christopher Mertin, Andy Murray, Jennifer Ranta, Ryan Rhoades, Dennice Roberts, Austin Skeeters, Brandon Smith, Stephen Verbie, Eric Yablunosky

2013: Dylan Abrahamsen, Michael Bernstein, Brett Bochack, Christopher Coffman, Anthony Ferrari,  Alec Fisher, Rebecca Hallock, Brian Melson, John Norris, Kelly Pawlak, Michael Woods

2012: Christopher Alessandria, Luis Barrera, Karen Bermes, Kevin Blondino, David Feld, Alicia Gomez, Ashley Huff, Taylor Hynds, John Kilgore, Zachary McDargh, Daniel Moerland, Peter Morales, Spencer Rosenfeld, Kyle Serniak, Matthew Sumpter, Matthew Trimble, Derrick Vangennep, Andrew Wray

2011: Andrew Ackert, Pradiip Alvarez, Daniel Davis, Walter Farrar, Brett Gardner, Stephen Hastings, Brett Israels, Jose Kolb-Lugo, Amanda Morland, Matthew Szmaida, Andrew Zarrella

2010: Chad Arce, Morgan Askins, Brandon Bryant, Kristen Collar, Mathew Denagy, Steven Dolly, Henry Doster, Anthony Hazel, Steven Honeywell, Mathew Hoza, Jocelyn Mandalou

2009: Bernadette Cogswell, Rutger Dungan, Nicholas Fitzsimmons, Sean Kuvin, Maksim Levental, David Morris, Alison Pawlicki, Amy Rouinfar, Christopher Segal

2008: Shawn Havery, Alexander Long, Randall McClellan, David Page, Keenan Pepper, Anna Woodard

2006:David Arthur, Timothy Backus, Amy Crisp, James Custer, Aric Pell, Michelle Perry, Anton Souslov, Robert Throckmorton, Elizabeth Wingfield

2005: Edward Atkinson, Taeyjuana Curry, Robert Harris, Alexander Kiss, Rhiannon Meharchand, John Oberlin, Stephen Padgett, Nicholas Sanchez, Danielle Stroup, Benjamin Thayer, Jose Valery, Drew Wehmeyer, Bedford West, Brian Zagorski

Anna Runyan Award

In 2012, the FSU Foundation received an unrestricted gift from the estate of Anna H. Runyan, who graduated from FSU in 1954 with a B.S. in physics. She worked for the Navy as a physicist in Panama City, FL. She died in 2012 and willed money to FSU "to be used as seen fit by the FSU Foundation's officers." This gift was used to establish the Anna H. Runyan Scholarship in Physics, to be distributed every year.

Recipients

2023: Michael Fredock, Lexington Mandachi, Moises Medina Restrepo, Justin Sculley

2022: Ethan Todd, Peter McGoron, Kevin Liguori

2021: Graham O' Donnell, Rebecca Van Gelder

2020: Maarten de Haan, Chika Onobogu, Justin Marquez, Janiris Rodriguez

2018: Kelly Anderson

2017: Corey Brummel-Smith, Kenneth Hanselman, Alex Saperstein, Anna Yannakopolous

2016: Austin Skeeters, Amelia Estry, Dayshon Mathis, Hannah Holt, Linsey Rodenbach

Clara Kibler Davis Scholarship

For worthy female students for studies in physics, chemistry, mathematics and other courses in science.

Recipients

2023: Sophia Korte, Diya Choudhary, Wonmin Song

2022: Rebecca Van Gelder, Lexington Mandachi

2021: Ashlyn Langford, Christina Schiffert, Chika Onubogu, Zain Abhari

Evelyn and John Baugh Research Presentation Scholarship

Awards of up to $500 are available for undergraduate students with majors in the physics department and graduate students in the physics department to present their research at a conference. The presentation may be a poster or a talk. Undergraduate recipients must present their work at the physics department’s student poster session held each spring. Graduate recipients must present their work at the physics department’s three-minute thesis competition held each spring. Before funds can be dispersed, recipients must write a thank you note to the donors. Applications should be sent to Christianne Beekman at cbeekman@fsu.edu and must include the following items:

• a brief description of the work to be presented, including where it was done and who supervised it
• an explanation of how attending the conference will benefit you
• an itemized budget that includes transportation, lodging, registration and meals
• additional sources and amounts of funding that, along with the Baugh funds, would cover the full budget
• a letter from an FSU faculty member supporting the application and taking responsibility for ensuring the student presents a poster during the next departmental poster session

Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis, with the caveat that once a year’s funding is gone, no more applications for that year will be accepted. We are still accepting applications for this fiscal year.

John D. Fox Scholarship

To support outstanding undergraduate and graduate students in physics. Preference will be given to, but not limited to, students who have demonstrated academic merit and whose scholarly activity is focused in the area of nuclear physics. Financial need is a secondary consideration.

Recipients

2023: Scott Baker "for developing a Geant-4 simulation of the CeBrA gamma-ray detectors to characterize their energy resolution and full-energy detection efficiency."

2022: Graham O'Donnell

Charles and Anna Uhrhan Scholarship

Recipients

2021: Meg Van Deventer "for her outstanding Honors Thesis research on the electronic properties of one-dimensional metal-halide hybrid materials."

2018: Leon Hostetler

Presidential Scholars Award

The Presidential Scholars Award is the premier undergraduate merit scholarship at Florida State University. The program provides four years of support and is open to high school seniors who are admitted into the Florida State University Honors Program. The program was initiated in 2014.

Recipients

2017: James McAuley

2016: Shae Machlus, John Powell

2015: Ben Gibson

2014: Jorge Gonzalez, Gregory Seel

Academic Leadership Award for Arts and Sciences

Recipients

2021: Zain Abhari

Barry Goldwater Scholarships

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 purpose of the foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue research careers in these fields.

Recipients

2023: Jack Lyons

2019: Shae Machlus

2001: Keola Wierschem

2000: Daniel Roberts

1999: Johan E. Gonzales, Christina J. White

1998: Minesh Bacrania

1996: Gabriel Bouch

1995: Will Huttner, Darren Oldsen

1993: James Thompson

1991: Mark Beeman

1990: Michael Owens

Will Huttner, Darren Oldsen, and Gabriel Bouch also majored in mathematics while Minesh Bacrania also majored in meteorology.

Keenan Pepper received Honorable Mention in the Goldwater competition in 2007.

Phi Beta Kappa (ΦΒΚ)

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious student honor society in the country. Requirements for election include a liberal studies major in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Social Sciences or the Department of Art History, and a GPA of 3.9 or higher for juniors, and 3.65 or higher for seniors. Beginning in 2014, the Hagopian Family Endowment Fund has provided the funds to cover the initiation/membership fees of physics students elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of Florida chapter.

Inductees

2023: Sarah Eschrich, Jack Folwell, Shaheed Perez, Ethan Todd, Holly Zeyl

2021: Zain Abhari, Justin Marquez

2020: Drew Goldstein, Lexington Mandachi, Christopher Ragsdale, Rebecca Van Gelder, Christian Kuffer, Christina Schiffert, Michael Campanella, Elise Chavez, Evan Haggert, Joseph Peetz, Kyle Kehrer, Douglas Schoedl, Zachary Goraum

2019: James Sullivan, Francisco Gallo, Anthony Micciche, Graham O' Donnell

2018: Leon Hostetler

2017: Craig Bolles, Corey Brummel-Smith, Kenneth Hanselman, Alex Saperstein, Alejandro Sanchez, Hannah Holt and Samuel Chang.

Amelia Estry received the Marion Hay Jewell Award for outstanding academic achievement from Phi Beta Kappa.

2016: Robert Orlando, Austin Skeeters, Gabriel Vasquez, Jessica Koros, Joseph David, Madeline Austin

2015: Linsey Rodenbach, Aaron Magilligan, Jennifer Ranta, Jordan Smith

2014: Michael Bernstein, Rebecca Hallock, Spencer Jones, Kelly Pawlak, Miles Curry, Emily (Amelia) Estry, Anna Yannakopoulos

2013: Alicia Gomez, Taylor Hynds, Kyle Serniak, Derrick Vangennep,

2012: Brett Gardner, Anthony Hazel, Zachary McDargh, Ryan Rhoades, Brett Bochak

2011: Morgan Askins, Brandon Bryant, Henry Doster, Steven Honeywell, Matthew Szmaida

2010: Nicholas Fitzsimmons, Matthew Hoza, Amy Rouinfar, Andrew Ackert, Daniel Davis, Victoria Crawford

2009: Bernadette Cogswell, Randall McClellan

2007: James Wilcox, Amy Crisp, David Westmark

2006: Robert Harris, Anton Souslov, Robert Throckmorton

2005: Danielle Stroup, Benjamin Thayer, Aric Pell, Elizabeth Wingfield, Edward Atkinson

2003: Thomas French, Stacy Pouliot

2002: Brandon Bozek, Jessica Warren, Calem Hoffman, Sean Barton, Andrew Camarata, Philip Coltharp

National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowship

Since 1952, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program of the National Science Foundation has provided Fellowships to individuals selected early in their graduate careers based on their demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. Three years of support is provided by the program for graduate study in science or engineering and leads to a research-based master's or doctoral degree.

Recipients

2017: Linsey Rodenbach (B.S. '17); Megan Matthews (B.S. '15)

2014: Kelly Ann Pawlak (B.S. '14)

2012: Anna Woodard (B.S. '08)

2011: Alison Pawlicki (B.S. '10)

Honorable Mentions

2020: Shae Machlus

2010: Keenan Pepper