Daniel McCusker offered Fulbright Scholarship

Daniel McCusker (C’16) has been offered a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue an MSc. in Applied Physics at the Delft University of Technology in Delft, Netherlands, beginning in the fall of 2016. This two-year master’s program combines coursework, research, and an industrial internship. Daniel plans to conduct research on the applications of nanocrystals in solar cells.

Daniel graduated from Georgetown University magna cum laude with a B.S. in physics. He was awarded honors in physics for his exceptional performance in physics coursework and in thesis research. For his senior research project, conducted in Prof. Ed Van Keuren’s laboratory, Daniel fabricated and characterized field-effect transistors based on two-component, semiconducting organic nanocrystals. These materials are promising for their novel electrical properties and their potential for incorporation into flexible electronic devices.

“I applied for the Fulbright at Delft because it provided a great opportunity to continue my physics education in an international setting, and to extend my undergraduate research to solar cell research,” Daniel says. “The Netherlands has a long tradition of applying scientific and engineering solutions to societal issues, and TU Delft is a university at the forefront of science in the public sphere. By providing me with an opportunity to conduct research with the ultimate goal of improving solar technology, and to incorporate my science policy experience from Georgetown, the Fulbright program will place me at the intersection of science, technology, society, and leadership.”

After his first semester at Georgetown, Daniel was selected to be a Carroll Fellow. The Carroll Fellows Initiative supports Georgetown’s most academically talented and ambitious undergraduates in their pursuit of excellence within a community of like-minded peers. The Carroll Fellows program helped Daniel define his academic and career goals and encouraged him to pursue challenging and rewarding opportunities like those offered by the Fulbright program. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers research, study, and teaching opportunities in over 140 countries to recent college graduates and graduate students.

As an undergraduate student, Daniel was also general manager and lead guitarist for the 39th and 40th annual Georgetown Cabaret production, a Georgetown tradition that brings together performers from Georgetown’s different musical and performance communities for a three-hour rock production.

Before heading to the Netherlands, Daniel will spend the summer of 2016 participating in an international research experience at CERN, the European particle accelerator. Daniel will be working on the CMS (compact muon solenoid) detector, a detector on the Large Hadron Collider which searches for particles that could constitute dark matter.

After completing his master’s degree in the Netherlands, Daniel hopes to return to the United States to earn a Ph.D. in physics. Eventually, he hopes to work in private sector management in the technology industry.

Learn more:

Carroll Fellows Initiative
Fulbright US Student Program