Ian W. Shepherd Award
The Ian W. Shepherd Memorial Award was established in 1979 in honor of Department Chair Ian Shepherd, who led the department from August 1977 until his untimely death in January 1978. Shepherd, who was affiliated with Cornell University, Dupont, and Manchester University before joining Michigan Tech, was deeply interested polymer spectroscopy and hoped to make Michigan Tech a center for Raman spectroscopy.
The award is presented each year to the most outstanding physics graduate or graduates. The most promising of seniors are presented with a check and have their names engraved on a plaque, which is displayed in the physics department.
- 2022 - Trevor Kieft
- 2021 - Carter Mashburn
Elizabeth Henes Award
The Elizabeth Henes Award was established in 2022, in honor of Elizabeth Henes. Mrs. Henes, along with her husband Richard, were the benefactors of the The Elizabeth and Richard Henes Center for Quantum Phenomena. Mrs. Henes had a desire to honor female physics students, believing that students at Michigan Tech have the potential to change the world.
"Their gift changed our physics laboratories and made things start to happen. This will always be remembered."
The Henes Award is presented yearly to the most outstanding undergraduate woman in physics, as judged by the faculty of the Department of Physics. Students will receive a check and have their names engraved on a plaque placed permanently in the department.
- 2022 - Betheny Hellman and Casey Aldrich
Department Scholar
The Department Scholar a rising senior who best represents student scholarship at Michigan Tech. This outstanding student is considered excellent not only by academic standards, but also for participation in research scholarship activity, levels of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and communication skills.
- 2020 - Casey Aldrich
- 2019 - River Leversee
- 2018 - Jon Berman
- 2017 - Crystal Massoglia
- 2016 - Floyd Johnson
Provost's Award for Scholarship
The recipient of this award is chosen from among the previous year’s Department Scholars.
- 2013 - Michael Adler
Goldwater Scholar
The Barry Goldwater Scholarship is a highly competitive national award that supports juniors and seniors preparing for research careers in natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
- 2011 - Hansen Nordsiek
Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellowship
The Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellowship seeks to attract talented, committed individuals with backgrounds in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—into teaching in high-need Georgia secondary schools.
- 2017 - Ben Manning
Henes Summer Research Fellowships
- 2020 - Alan Larson
Advisor: Petra Huentemeyer
Project: X-ray Analysis of the Supernova Remnant IC 443 - 2020 - Carter Mashburn
Advisor: Jacek Borysow
Project: Raman Spectroscopy as a High Precision Temperature Sensor - 2020 - Kaiden O'Neill
Advisor: Will Cantrell
Project: Understanding the Heterogeneous Freezing of Water Using Dilute Solutions and Mica as a Model System - 2020 - Wolfgang Vallazza-Margl
Advisor: Claudio Mazzoleni
Project: Developing a New Method of Determining the Absorption Coefficient of Aerosols
Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships
Summer Undergraduate Researcher Fellowships (SURF) are a competitively-awarded fellowship open to students who have at least one semester remaining after the summer.
- 2020 - Reed Downs
Advisor: Claudio Mazzoleni
Project: Extinction of Light by Water Droplets in a Turbulent Cloud - 2020 - Noah Wilson
Advisor: Jacek Borysow
Project: Non-invasive Breath Analysis for Testing Blood Glucose Levels in Diabetics