Scholarships and Awards

Undergraduate Student Awards

Awards in which Students Apply

Awards in which Students are Nominated by Faculty

Ralph B. Bodine Scholarship
The University of Michigan Physics Department invites undergraduate physics students at the University of Michigan to apply for the Ralph B. Bodine Scholarship. The scholarship is made possible by a gift from Norman R. Bodine ('64) and United Technologies. It is named in honor of Ralph B. Bodine, a 1936 University of Michigan graduate.

The Scholarship provides annual scholarship support to a 3rd-year student (applications should be submitted by current 2nd year students) 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 student per year

Scholarship Criteria: Prospective students must be citizens of the United States and need financial assistance. Students should currently be in their second year to apply.

Deadline: All materials must be submitted by Friday, March 14th, 2014. The scholarship is awarded in the month of April.

Download: Bodine Recommendation Form  & Bodine Application

The 2013 Ralph B. Bodine Scholarship was awarded to Hassan Ali.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Nico Wagner
 2011  Phillip Bonofiglo
 2010  Sophie Zhang
 2009  Ruthi Hortsch
 2008  Steven Moses
 2007  Peter Troyan
 2006  Paige Warmker
 2005  Benjamin Sonday

Wirt & Mary Cornwell Prize
The Cornwell Prize is given to a graduating Physics Concentrator who has demonstrated intellectual curiosity and given promise of original study and creative work. The award can be made to honor research, teaching, or any other contributions made to the intellectual life of the Department..

Award Amount: $5,000

Number Awarded: One student per year

Award Criteria:

    Student must:

    1. Graduate in academic year 2013-2014
    2. Be a declared Physics Concentrator
    3. Have a GPA of at least 3.5
    4. Have been involved in research while an undergraduate student
    5. Plan to be enrolled in a graduate program no later than Fall 2014

Deadline: Student completes the application and submits it to the Student Services Office (1440 Randall) no later than Friday, March 14th, 2014. The prize is awarded in the month of April.

Download: Cornwell Undergraduate Application

The 2013 recipient of the Wirt & Mary Cornwell Prize for Undergraduates was Jonathon Hunacek.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Benjamin Isaacoff
 2011  Kate Miller
 2010  Steven Moses
 2009  Seth Siegel
 2008  Liz Otto
 2007  Erin McCamish
 2006  Michael Kagan
 2005  Jacob Bourjaily

William L. Williams Award
This award is established in memory of Professor William L. Williams to honor an outstanding undergraduate thesis. The award recognizes a student who exhibits excellence in posing a question, conducting independent investigation, and determining an answer.

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 committee 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 Student Services Office (1440 Randall) by Friday, March 14th, 2014. The award is presented in the month of April.

The 2013 recipient of the William L. Williams Award was Phillip Bonofiglo.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Kassandra R. Anderson
 2011  Pavel Chvykov
 2010  Jason Hindes
 2009  Sam Espahbodi
 2008  Liz Shtrahman
 2007  Matthew Becker
 2006  David Hucul
   Mark Yeo
 2005  Phillip Killewald
 2004  Michael Borysow
 2003  Brandon Kelly
 2002  James Degenhardt
 2001  Daniel Berebitsky
 2000  Susan Amrose
 1999  Jameson Rollins
   David Sowards-Emerd
 1998  Matt Lewis
 1997  Robert Michniak
 1996  Melody Klaus
 1995  Daniel McKinsey
 1994  Alan Hunt
 1993  Steven Watchorn
   Britton Plourde
 1992  Peter Kurczynski
 1991  Lisa Lapidus
   Roxane Ronca
 1990  Jeffrey Stehr
 1989  Brian Saam
 1988  Rachel Goldman
   Brian Arbic

Pearson Book Award
The Pearson Book Award is presented for outstanding contributions to the life of the Physics Department. 

Celeste Carruth and Tyler Hughes received the 2013 Pearson Book Award.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Gregory Affeldt
   Christopher Davis
   Gregory McCracken
 2011  Samantha Thomas
 2010  Timothy Raben
 2009  Jessica Zinger
 2008  Robert Van Wesep

Wiley Book Award
Established in 1996, the Wiley Book Award is presented for outstanding achievement by an undergraduate physicist.

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.

The 2013 recipient of the Wiley Book Award was Jennifer Roloff.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Christopher Anderson
 2011  Benjamin Treweek
 2010  Sacha van der Spek
 2009  Brain Ball
 2008  Wai Ling Wu

Otho Lyle Tiffany & Mary Lois Tiffany Fellowship
This is a new prize first given in 2010. It is for non-graduating physics students who we would like to encourage to continue their great academic efforts. This award is given to students based on faculty nominations and the deliberation of the Undergraduate Awards Committee.

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: $1,000

Number Awarded: Depends on deliberations of committee, ~5 students per year.

The 2013 recipients of the Otho Lyle Tiffany & Mary Lois Tiffany Fellowship were Kyle Gordon, Yashwanth Lagisetty, Erik Ljungman, Bardia Nadim, and Jon White.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Neal Anderson
   Alexander Blaty
   Sean Carney
   Mary Hemmeter
   Kareem Hegazy
   Tyler Hughes
 2011  Nicholas Hac
   Jonathon Hunacek
   Emily Lichko
   William Murdock III
   Justin Priest
 2010  Trevor Gray
   Laura Lai
   Michael Stewart
   Benjamin Treweek
   Zimu Li

George Eugene Uhlenbeck Award
This award was created to recognize outstanding achievements by an undergraduate student.

The 2013 recipients of the George Eugene Uhlenbeck Award were Soon Hoe Lim and Mykola Murskyj.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Madeline Huberth
 2011  Laurie Lai
 2010  Timothy Blasius

Walter W. Wada Award
This scholarship is for non-graduating undergraduate physics students deserving of encouragement and recognition for their great academic efforts and contributions to the Department.

The 2011 recipient of the Walter W. Wada Award was Michael Norman.

Outstanding Achievement in Physics Award

This award was created to recognize exemplary undergraduate service to the University of Michigan Physics Department.

The 2013 recipients of the Outstanding Achievement in Physics Award were Lauren Franzblau, Blythe Moreland, Yutong Pan, Samuel Shreeman, Daniel Smolkin, Brian Swiger, Jun Jie Eugene Tan, and Shi Jie Sejay Tan.

 Past Recipients
 2012  Britney Blankenship
   Christine Harris
   Nicholas Maher
   Connor Roncaioli
   Li Zhao