Scholarships and Awards for Undergraduates

• Source: The Cubic Corporation
• Eligibility: Undergraduate students majoring in physics or applied physics, financial need is a consideration. 
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees:
  • 24/25 - Keenan Fiedler
  • 23/24 -  Keenan Fiedler & Aaron McCray
  • 22/23 - Isabella Olin, Jessica Zhang, & Maxwell Rizzo

• Source: Gifts from family, colleagues, and friends of the late Dr. Franz Fischer, a distinguished scientist who served in New York, Berlin, and Nuremberg before moving to Green Valley, Arizona
• Eligibility: (rotates between Astronomy, Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics); outstanding junior in Physics or Applied Physics
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees:
  • 21/22 - Peter Hartman

• Source: A scholarship endowment established by George Gregson of Beverly Hills, California.
• Eligibility: Junior or senior students in the Department of Physics selected with an exceptional academic record; must have least a cumulative GPA of 3.5
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - Van Higgs & Tristen Shields
  • 23/24 - Gabriel Weible & Hanga Andras-Letanvszky
  • 22/23 - Tintin Nguyen, Bennett Skinner, & Carl Ingebretsen

• Source: A scholarship as a memorial to the late Dr. Roger Haar, former laboratory manager for the Department of Physics
• Eligibility: Full-time undergraduate physics major; minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA; financial need as determined by FAFSA
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - Brandon Friend
  • 22/23 - Felix Pat & Gabriel Weible

• Source: A scholarship endowment established by former UA Physics undergraduate student, Kenneth S. Krane of Corvallis, Oregon.
• Eligibility: full-time undergraduate major in physics; preference to junior/senior; minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - Lucas Adams & Apollo Deeney
  • 23/24 - Sarah Stamer
  • 22/23 - Kush Aggarwal & Peter Hartman

• Source: Funded by an endowment established as a memorial to the late John A. Leavitt, Professor of Physics, 1960 to 1995.
• Eligibility: Undergraduate students who in the Physics Department's Advanced Lab Sequence completed the following four experiments: the Charge-to-Mass Ratio of a Electron, the Millikan Oil Drop Experiment, the Universal Gravitational Constant, and the Photoelectric Effect. The student selected will have the highest cumulative average score on the four experiments as determined by the laboratory supervisor.
• Value: Award recipients will receive $1,000, in the form of an unrestricted check.
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - Christian Burt & Eason Wang
  • 23/24 - Evan LaForge & Tintin Nguyen
  • 22/23 - Ryan Lewis

• Source: A bequest from the estate of the late Glenn C. Purviance of Tucson, Arizona.
• Eligibility: Incoming freshmen who intend to major in Physics or Engineering Physics at the University of Arizona and continuing students who are majoring in Physics or Engineering Physics at the University of Arizona.
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - 
  • 23/24 - Arshia Arhtarkavan, Ethan Cushner, Maren Kalberer, & Beckett Kohn
  • 22/23 - Rohin Sant, Daniel Torres, Richard Caccamise, Pranav Chiploonkar, Steven Torres, & Yaritza Durazo

• Source: Endowment from Vesto M. Slipher, managed by JP Morgan Scholarship
• Eligibility: Award to “worthy students who are pursuing studies in science”; must be an undergraduate physics or applied physics major
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - Philip Nathanael Klaassen
  • 23/24 - Tintin Nguyen
  • 22/23 - Swapnaneel Dey

• Source: Established by Niels A. Thompson, an alumnus of the University of Arizona who earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics in 1979, Anna Thompson and gifts from friends, family, and/or the community
• Eligibility: undergraduate major in physics or applied physics; demonstrated excellence in experimental physics through research experience or experimental physics coursework; preference will be given to students who are underrepresented in physics
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees: 
  • 24/25 - Isabella Olin
  • 23/24 - Nazende Kerkeser
  • 22/23 - Jay Motka

• Source: a gift from retired professor of Physics Albert Weaver
• Eligibility: sophomore/junior physics major; outstanding record in physics and mathematics courses; demonstrated promise as a research scholar
• Value: Varies
• Recent Awardees:
  • 24/25 - Adal Awad, Namit Chandak, Pranav Chiploonkar, Nikhil Garuda, Matan Lagnado, Suhani Surana, & Aurora Wilde
  • 23/24 - Adal Awad, Pranav Chiploonkar, Brandon Friend, Van Higgs, Ryan McKirryher, Isabella Olin, Tristen Shields, Namit Chandak, Swapnaneel Dey, Ansh Gupta, Aurora Wilde, & Tayvien Williams
  • 22/23 - Adal Awad, Tintin Nguyen, Bennet Skinner, Brandon Friend, Felix Pat, Gabriel Weible, Jay Motka, Kush Aggarwal, Maxwell Rizzo, & Kai Soriano

Each College of Science department may nominate ONE outstanding graduating senior. The nominee will receive your departmental Outstanding Senior Award, presented at the Spring College of Science Awards event in early May. The CoS Awards Committee will select the CoS overall Outstanding Senior from among the departmental Outstanding Seniors. Please note that the Department of Physics will ask for multiple nominees that the Department Award Committee will then choose one awardee to be submitted to the College of Science. This award is for Fall & Spring. Solicitation of nominees will happen in both the Fall and Spring semesters.

Past Award Winners:

• Spring 2024: Hongji Wei
• Fall 2023: Evan LaForge
• Spring 2023: Ritvik Basant
• Fall 2022: Sean Driskill
• Spring 2022: Justin Hink
• Fall 2021: Liam David
• Spring 2021: Jonathan Friduss

Each College of Science department may nominate ONE graduating senior who has shown outstanding achievement in independent, undergraduate research. The nominee will receive the departmental Undergraduate Research Award at the College of Science Spring Awards event. The College of Science Awards Committee will select the overall Undergraduate Research Award recipient from the departmental nominees. Please note that the Department of Physics will ask for multiple nominees that the Department Award Committee will then choose one awardee to be submitted to the College of Science. This award is for Spring only, but nominees could have graduated in either Fall or Spring. Solicitation of nominees will happen in the Spring semester.

Past Award Winners:

• Spring 2024: Hongji Wei*
• Spring 2023: Yash Chandak
• Spring 2022: Justin Hink
• Spring 2021: Magda Andrade

* - Denotes a student who was also selected as the overall College of Science award winner.

Galileo Circle scholars are committed to academic excellence. They are at the forefront of changing and bettering our world.

Each College of Science department may nominate several students who exemplify the qualities of scholastic achievement, research excellence, and strong character. The Department of Physics Awards Committee will select multiple awardees for this award at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Please note that not all students who wish to be nominated will be selected.

This award is for Spring only, but nominees must be continuing into the following academic year. Solicitation of nominees will happen in the Spring semester. 

 Past Awardees:

• 2024/2025:
  • Undergraduate: Pranav Chiploonkar, Keenan Fiedler, Brandon Friend, Megan Harrison, Colton Quirk, Tristen Shields, Amritaansh Srivastava
  • Graduate: Brianna Billingsley, M Smith
• 2023/2024: 
  • Undergraduate: Evan LaForge, Andrew Land, Swapnaneel Dey, Sarah Stamer, Tintin Nguyen
  • Graduate: William Price, Christopher Grayson
• 2022/2023:
  • Undergraduate: Yash Chandak, Brandon Friend, Evan LaForge, Sarah Stamer, Jeremy Rine, Shelbi Foster, Andrew Land
  • Graduate: Christopher Grayson, Stefan Evans, Caleb Webb, Moshe Chesler
• 2021/2022:
  • Undergraduate: Chad Gallego, Andrew Land, Felix Pat, Carl Ingebretsen
  • Graduate: Christopher Kane, Pravin Khanel, William Price, Feng Wu, Rachel Lindley