Prof. Sam Gralla wins CoS Galileo Circle Curie Award
Dec. 10, 2023
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Photo by Carl Philabaum
Congratulations to Prof. Sam Gralla, who won the College of Science 2024 Galileo Circle Curie Award. This is the award recognize the “rising stars” among the College’s junior faculty, whose innovative work is not only advancing science, but also adding to the diversity within the scientific community. Previous awardees from Physics Department include Elisabeth Krause (2022) and Eduardo Rozo (2020).
Prof. Gralla’s research is in theoretical gravitational physics. His profile is unusually broad, spanning quantum fields in strong gravity, theoretical astrophysics, and data analysis. His research addresses a huge range of questions, from the fundamental to the astronomical, and has brought us national and international recognition. Besides his high-impact scientific research, his classroom teaching is exemplary, where he works diligently to improve the experience of all students, including underrepresented minorities. Gralla also brings global visibility to our university with his outstanding communication ability, reaching thousands of viewers in live outreach or education events, and hundreds of thousands of viewers online.
Gralla has received three significant recognitions during his time as a professor at the University of Arizona. First, he received the NSF CAREER award, the flagship early-career award from NSF. He also received the early-career international award in his field, the Young Scientist Prize in General Relativity and Gravitation, awarded by the International Union of Pure and Applied Sciences. Finally, Gralla was recently honored to be selected as the Charles W. Misner Endowed Lecturer in Gravitational Physics, where he gave a large public lecture and a series of three technical lectures at the University of Maryland.