Student Scholarships & Awards

Addison-Wesley Book Award

Katey Alatalo received the 2005 Addison-Wesley Book Award.

Ralph B. Bodine Scholarship

The Scholarship provides annual scholarship support to a 3rd-year student with proven academic ability in the Department of Physics. The recipient must be a citizen of the United States and need financial assistance. If no undergraduates in physics meet the qualifications, the scholarship is to be given to an undergraduate in electrical engineering or to a first- or second-year graduate student in physics, in order of preference. Each recipient will receive scholarship support for two years, contingent on satisfactory academic performance.

Award Amount: Provides scholarship support for two years up to $10,000 per academic year

Number Awarded: One fellowship every two years (last awarded in 2004)

Scholarship Criteria: Prospective students must be citizens of the United States and need financial assistance.

Deadline: This scholarship is awarded every two years. It was last awarded in 2004. All materials must be submitted by the third Friday in March. The scholarship is awarded in the month of April.

Wirt & Mary Cornwell Prize

Award Amount: $10,000

Number Awarded: One student per year

Award Criteria: Eligible students will be drawn from the pool of those who have passed the Qualifying Examination within the past 42 months.

Other factors include:
1) Grades in graduate courses
2) Score on Qualifying Examination
3) Independent study
4) Research experience and accomplishments
5) Demonstations of intellectual initiative and originality
6) Any other evidence of creative activity and potential shall be a factor, such as reports or papers written, apparatus designed or constructed, experiments carried out, and other notable citations received or academic competitions won.

Deadline: Faculty must submit their nominations to the Student Services Director by the second Friday in March. The prize is awarded in the month of April.

The Wirt & Mary Cornwell Prize was awarded to Wouter Deconinck in 2005.

Cornwell Prize for Undergraduates

The Franken Award

Peter Franken was a leading member of the Michigan physics faculty for two decades whose contributions include pioneering discoveries in non-linear optics, novel developments in spectroscopy, and detailed studies of physical symmetries.

Award Criteria: The Franken Award is presented every year to honor outstanding work by a first- or second-year Physics graduate student.

Award Amount: $1,500-$2,000

Number Awarded: One student per year

Deadline: There is no application needed. This prize is awarded by a faculty committee each April.

Vladimir Dergachev was the 2005 recipient of the Peter Franken Award

Parkinson Travel Funds

Award Criteria: Awards are available to Physics Ph.D. students who are presenting either a paper or poster at a conference. Students must be studying experimental physics (not high energy or theory).

Deadline: Applications must be received at least three weeks prior to the conference. Applications will be reviewed on a first come, first served basis.

Please Note: No application will be considered for funding retroactively.
Funding is Limited and May Expire Without Notice

Kent M. Terwilliger Memorial Thesis Prize

Award Criteria: The selection criteria for this prize are the scholarship and importance of the research and its presentation in the doctoral dissertation. The timely completion of graduate studies is an important consideration as well.

In addition:
1) The doctoral chair or co-chair must be a faculty member of the Physics Department
2) The doctoral degree must be either in Physics or in a joint program that includes Physics
3) The oral thesis must be defended by the end of the current winter term
4) The thesis must have been completed and submitted the previous year

Award Amount: $3,000

Number Awarded: One student per year

Deadline: There is no application needed. Students can nominate their own thesis but must have recommendation letters from faculty. This prize is awarded by a faculty committee each April.

Almut Mecke was awarded the Kent M. Terwilliger Memorial Thesis Prize for 2005.

The Wiedenbeck Award

Award Criteria:
1) Teaching evaluation scores
2) Student comments on teaching evaluations
3) Feedback from faculty supervisors
4) Feedback from lab supervisors
5) Portfolio submitted by student containing: a) class materials (handouts, quizzes etc.) developed by student b) a brief overview written by the student of the instructional materials used in the course c) any additional material the student wishes to submit

Award Amount: $1,500

Number Awarded: One graduate student per year

Deadline: Students can self nominate by emailing the Director of Student Services by the third Friday in March. The faculty committee will review the cases of all nominated students. They will narrow the field to between 3 and 5 candidates. Each finalist will be asked to discuss her/her portfolio in a 20 minute interview with the committee. A winner will be selected following these presentations and the award is presented at the Departmental Undergraduate Awards Ceremony the day before graduation.

Christopher Savage was the 2005 recipient of the Wiedenbeck Award.

Wiley Book Award

Award Criteria: The award is given to a graduating senior with a high G.P.A. who is going to graduate school.

Number Awarded: One student per year

Deadline: There is no application needed. The prize is awarded by a faculty committee in April.

Alexander Povilus was the 2005 recipient of the Wiley Book Award for outstanding academics and/or research.

The William L. Williams Award

Award Criteria: You must be a University of Michigan student receiving a bachelor's degree with a concentration in physics in the current academic year.

Award Amount: $3,000

Number Awarded: One student per year

How to proceed: Provide three copies of the thesis. A supporting letter by the thesis advisor is required; additional supporting letters are optional, but encouraged. As part of the judging process, the committe may choose to interview students regarding thesis content. The committee would appreciate it if the thesis could be submitted in print and also in electronic form (if available).

Deadline: Submit materials to the Undergraduate Secretary, Office of Student Services, 2464 Randall Lab, by the first Friday in April. The award is presented at the Departmental Undergraduate Awards Ceremony the day before graduation.

The 2005 recipient of the William L. Williams Award is Phillip Killewald.