Undergraduate Awards

Kidwell Medal

Founded by the late Edgar Kidwell, A.B., 1886; A.M., 1889; Ph.D., 1897, the Kidwell Medal is awarded to the senior who has demonstrated the highest level of academic excellence in physics coursework.

2024 Shane Gorman
2023 Bradley Fugetta
2022 Juan Albors
2021 Maximillian Thomas
2020 Brian Damerau
2019 Benjamin Stein-Lubrano
2018 Thomas Kiely
2017 Shuyang (Harry) Han
2016 Christopher Tiede
2015 Daniel Dylewsky
2014 Michael McAneny
2013 Andrew Jreissaty
2012 William Starshak
2011 Matthew Illich
2010 Andrew Molchan
2009 Sean Flynn
2008 Catherine Graves
2007 Edward Banigan
2006 Jonathan Rogers
2005 Matthew Fishman
2004 Jeremy Davidson, Ross Grimes, Kendra Klump
2003 Kristin Cox
2002 Courtney Peterson
2001 Joseph Conahan
2000 John Garra
more Kidwell Winners

Treado Medal

This medal was established in 1989 as a memorial to Professor Paul A. Treado. It is given to a graduating physics senior in recognition of excellence in physics coursework, in research, and through valuable service to the department.

2024 Cecilia Ochoa
2023 Fatema Abidalrahim, Joseph Farina
2022 Victoria Boatwright, Brandon Duran, Catherine McCarthy
2021 Pia Bhatia
2020 Francis Dragulet, Jack Wathieu
2019 Roman Kosarzycki
2018 Caitlin Beattie, Max Waxman
2017 Nicholas Quirk
2016 John Treado
2015 Luke Marrinan, Alex Zajac
2014 Jana Dodson, Alexander Fragapane
2013 Charles Clark Esty
2012 Christopher Ballard and Tristan Deppe
2011 Derick Stace-Naughton
2010 Anna Cheimets
2009 Robert Ford
2008 Patrick Cox
2007 Nicholas Malaya
2006 Pramukta Kumar
2005 David Littlejohn
2004 Daniel Rogers
2003 Michael Durst
2002 Lillian Aldaia, Christine Fleury, Courtney Peterson
2001 Beth Rogers
2000 Nadia Fomin
1999 Kenneth Bourassa, Mihan House, Rhiannon Peasco
1998 Heather Deese
1997 Daniel Benson
1996 not awarded
1995 Theodore Kyriakou

Serene Medal

Established in 2002 as the Undergraduate Research Award and renamed in 2023 as a memorial to Prof. Joseph W. Serene, the Serene Medal is awarded to a senior in recognition of outstanding research accomplishments in physics. The recipient is chosen based on the depth and impact of the student’s research and on the quality of the student’s written and oral presentations of this work to the faculty.

2024 Kyla Fraser, Luke Jankowski, Kayla Winters
2023 Joseph Farina, Bradley Fugetta
2022 Victoria Boatwright, Catherine McCarthy
2021 Madison Ascione, Pia Bhatia, Paul Heyden, Ziyue Zhang
2020 Francis Dragulet, David Fitzpatrick, Michael Rushka, Jack Wathieu
2019 Jeremy Canfield, Ian Macmillan, Ben Stein-Lubrano
2018 Thomas Kiely, Max Waxman
2017 Nicholas Chapman
2016 Dylan Cutler, Patrick Stocklin, Christopher Tiede, John Treado
2015 John Kerin
2014 Michael McAneny
2013 Andrew Jreissaty
2012 Christopher Ballard
2011 Mark Jreissaty and Matthew Illich
2010 Anna Cheimets and John Gatti
2008 Catherine Graves
2006 Jessica Taff
2005 Cameron Booth, Kyle Hatton, Maki Nishida
2003 Rae Robertson, Justin Sporrer
2002 Lillian Aldaia

Hichwa Summer Research Fellowship

Established in 2011, the Hichwa Family Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship provides stipends for undergraduates carrying out summer research projects in the physics department. For more information and a list of recipients, please visit the Hichwa Fellowship page.

Other Awards

2024-25 Jonathan Riess (C’25), Toni and Hans Schierling Undergraduate Scholar, ARCS Foundation
2024 Leah Chen (C’25), Chester Gillis Award
2024 Lucas Raskin (C’25), Eli Kerstein (C’24), John Andrzejewski (C’25), selected for Y Combinator start-up accelerator program
2024-25 Jonathan Riess (C’25), Goldwater Scholarship
2023 Cecilia Ochoa (C’24), SPS – Google Scholarship
2023 Bradley Fugetta (C’23), Provost’s Undergraduate Research Presentation Award Support (PURPAS)
2023 Catherine McCarthy (C’22), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2023 Victoria Boatwright (C’22), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2022 Victoria Boatwright (C’22), Fulbright Research Award
2022 Brandon Duran (C’22), NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
2021-2022 Ugomma Ugwu-Uche (C’22), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Scholarship
2021-2022 Catherine McCarthy (C’22), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Award
2021-2022 Victoria Boatwright (C’22), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Award
2020-2022 Victoria Boatwright (C’22), NOAA Hollings Scholarship
2020-2022 Grace Feagin (’22), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Scholar
2020-2021 Pia Bhatia (’21), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Scholar
2018-2019 Grace Maglieri (`19), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Scholar
2018 Grace Maglieri (`19), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Award
2018 Matthew Park (`19), Barry Goldwater Scholar & Excellence in Education Honorable Mention
2018 J. Andrew Paliotta (`19), Provost’s Undergraduate Research Presentation Award Support (PURPAS)
2018 Thomas Kiely (`18), Marshall Scholarship Finalist
2018 Ayan Mandal (`18), Gates Cambridge Scholar
2017-2018 Ayan Mandal (`18), Barry M. Goldwater Scholar
2017 Ayan Mandal (`18), Lisa J. Raines Fellow
2015-2018 Ayan Mandal (`18) Carroll Fellow
2016 Juliet Ivanov (`19) Provost’s Undergraduate Research Presentation Award Support (PURPAS)
2016 Aisha Khatib (`19) Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Award
2016 Daniel McCusker (`16), Fulbright Scholar
2015 Nevin Snow (`16), College Sailor of the Year, Intercollegiate Sailing Association
2014 Andrew Choi (`14), Healy Scholarship
2014 Andrew Choi (`14), Rhodes Scholar Finalist
2013-2016 Daniel McCusker (`16), Carroll Fellow
2012-2014 Helen Decelles-Zwerneman (`14), Clare Boothe Luce Scholar
2012 Jana Dodson (`14), Clare Boothe Luce Undergraduate Research Fellow
2011 Derick Stace-Naughton (`11), Mitchell Scholar
2010 Derick Stace-Naughton (`11), Lisa J. Raines Fellow
2009-2012 William Starshak (`12), Carroll Fellow
2008 Andrew Molchan (`10), Lisa J. Raines Fellow
2007-2010 Andrew Molchan (`10), John Carroll Scholar
2006-2008 Catherine Graves (`08), Clare Boothe Luce Scholar
2006-2007 Edward Banigan (`07), Barry M. Goldwater Scholar
2002-2003 Michael Durst (`03), Barry M. Goldwater Scholar
2002 Courtney Peterson (`02), Marshall Scholarship
2001-2003 Rae Robertson (`03), Clare Boothe Luce Scholar
2001 Bowen Holden (`01), Robert A. Duffey Award for Student Athletes
2001 Bowen Holden (`01), NCAA Woman of the Year for the District of Columbia
2000-2002 Courtney Peterson (`02), Clare Boothe Luce Scholar
2000-2002 Courtney Peterson (`02), Barry M. Goldwater Scholar
1999-2001 Beth Rogers (`01), Clare Boothe Luce Scholar’, Fulbright Research Award