Past Awards and Honors Recipients

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is proud of the accomplishments of all of our students. Our majors frequently receive awards and recognition for their outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements at Tufts and beyond.

Undergraduate Awards and Honors

  • Trisha Musall received the Karno Dean's Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership, awarded to three sophomores (one from each college) who have shown great promise in their academics and demonstrated leadership on or off campus.

    Jesse Yang received the Benjamin G Brown Scholarship, awarded to seniors who have shown promise in scientific research in fields other than chemistry.

    Toki Nishikawa received the Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award, recognizing outstanding academic work in any of the sciences by a student who is a scholarship recipient.

    Eoghan Downey received the Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize, awarded to engineering or science majors who have demonstrated excellence in scientific research, enthusiasm for the pursuit of knowledge, and a dedication to scholarly achievement.

    Matias Aranguiz received the Class of 1911 Prize Scholarship, honoring seniors of engaging personality who, from matriculation as freshmen to their senior year, have made the most progress as measured both by academic record and by successful participation in extracurricular activities of enduring worth.

    Marc Descoteaux received the Class of 1898 Prize, awarded annually to the students who, having completed at least two years at Tufts, have best demonstrated both high scholarly ability and a wide range of intellectual interest and competence.

    Hannah Magoon received the Amos Emerson Dolbear Scholarship. The Dolbear scholarships are awarded to seniors who have shown promise in the field of either physics or electrical engineering.

    Felix Yu and Alexander Denby received the N. Hobbs Knight Prize Scholarship in Physics, recognizing outstanding ability in theoretical and experimental physics.

  • Abigail E. Wilson received the Prize Scholarship of the Class of 1882, which honors an undergraduate student with great potential for intellectual leadership and creativity.

    Sadhya Garg received the Class of 1911 Prize Scholarship, honoring seniors of engaging personality who, from matriculation as freshmen to their senior year, have made the most progress as measured both by academic record and by successful participation in extracurricular activities of enduring worth.

    Allison E. Culbert received the Class of 1942 Prize Scholarship, awarded annually to seniors considered as the most likely to become outstanding university teachers, counselors, or administrators.

    Eoghan B. Downey received the Alex Elias Memorial Prize Scholarship, awarded to juniors or seniors who best display those high standards in community activities and in athletic and scholarly pursuits for which Alex Elias was well known.

    Jacob P. Sunnerberg received the Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize, awarded to engineering or science majors who have demonstrated excellence in scientific research, enthusiasm for the pursuit of knowledge, and a dedication to scholarly achievement.

    Maxwell H. Kaye received the Philip E. A. Sheridan, M.D. Prize, awarded annually to the student who has shown the most improvement through the junior year in the bachelor of arts course.

    Samantha M. Livermore received the Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award, recognizing outstanding academic work in any of the sciences by a student who is a scholarship recipient.

    Theodore O. Pena and Reed D. Spitzer received the N. Hobbs Knight Prize Scholarship in Physics, recognizing outstanding ability in theoretical and experimental physics.

    Bayley E. Cornish received the Amos Emerson Dolbear Scholarship. The Dolbear scholarships are awarded to seniors who have shown promise in the field of either physics or electrical engineering.

    This year's recipients of the Howard Sample Prize Scholarship in Physics for outstanding performance in Physics 11 and Physics 12 are: 

    • Khaled Ajaj
    • Seixas O. Aldrich
    • Brigid M. Barrick
    • Miles E. Izydorczak
    • Sofia A. Levy
    • Hannah W. Magoon
    • Zachary R. Osman
    • Sholke Sahay
    • Kevin J. Schult
    • Mary-Joy I. Sidhom
    • Patrick Song
    • Deepti Srinivasan
    • Brandon C. Sun
    • Finn I. Tekverk
    • Matthew Vivian
    • John K. Youssef
    • Nicolo B. Zucchi
  • Natalie Bohm received the Donald A Cowdery Memorial Scholarship, awarded to juniors or seniors whose academic achievements and personal qualities of leadership and high principle have been outstanding.

    Eoghan Downey received the Karno Dean's Award for Academic Excellence and Leadership, awarded to three sophomores (one from each college) who have shown great promise in their academics and demonstrated leadership on or off campus.

    Mark Gonzalez received the Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize, awarded to engineering or science majors who have demonstrated excellence in scientific research, enthusiasm for the pursuit of knowledge, and a dedication to scholarly achievement.

    Kai Kharpertian received the Ellen C. Myers Memorial Prize, awarded to a junior or senior who has shown character, diligence, and perseverance in achieving a high scholarship standard in the face of adverse circumstances while working toward a bachelor's degree at Tufts.

    Samantha Livermore received the Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award, recognizing outstanding academic work in any of the sciences by a student who is a scholarship recipient.

    Courtland Priest and Joao Vensi Basso received the Benjamin G Brown Scholarship, awarded to seniors who have shown promise in scientific research in fields other than chemistry.

    Jared Hwang and Michael Rosenbaum both received the N. Hobbs Knight Prize Scholarship in Physics, recognizing outstanding ability in theoretical and experimental physics.

    David Stern received the Amos Emerson Dolbear Scholarship. The Dolbear scholarships are awarded to seniors who have shown promise in the field of either physics or electrical engineering.

    This year's recipients of the Howard Sample Prize Scholarship in Physics for outstanding performance in Physics 11 and Physics 12 are:

    • Miles Arnett
    • Alexander Denby
    • Eoghan Downey
    • Olif Hordofa
    • Samantha Livermore
    • Huyen  Pham
    • Nicolas Ragusa
    • Leyla Rami
    • Edward Robbins
    • Youssef Soliman
    • Abigail Wilson
  • Cassidy Driscoll received the Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award, recognizing outstanding academic work in any of the sciences by a student who is a scholarship recipient.

    Lisa Fantini received the Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize, awarded to engineering or science majors who have demonstrated excellence in scientific research, enthusiasm for the pursuit of knowledge, and a dedication to scholarly achievement.

    Jordan Kemp received the Class of 1911 Prize Scholarship, honoring seniors of engaging personality who, from matriculation as freshmen to their senior year, have made the most progress as measured both by academic record and by successful participation in extracurricular activities of enduring worth.

    John McGowan and Rayleigh Parker both received the N. Hobbs Knight Prize Scholarship in Physics, recognizing outstanding ability in theoretical and experimental physics.

    Emily Van Milligen received the Ellen C. Myers Memorial Prize, awarded to a junior or senior who has shown character, diligence, and perseverance in achieving a high scholarship standard in the face of adverse circumstances while working toward a bachelor's degree at Tufts.

    Glenn VanWinkle received the Amos Emerson Dolbear Scholarship. The Dolbear scholarships are awarded to seniors who have shown promise in the field of either physics or electrical engineering.

    This year's recipients of the Howard Sample Prize Scholarship in Physics for outstanding performance in Physics 11 and Physics 12 are:

    • Daniel Bekai
    • Natalie Bohm
    • Mark Gonzalez
    • Catherine Melsky
    • David Stern
    • Joao Marcos Vensi Basso
  • Sarah Elghor and Andrew Mascioli both received the N. Hobbs Knight Prize Scholarship in Physics, recognizing outstanding ability in theoretical and experimental physics.

    Justin Hudson received a summer fellowship from the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium.

    Anastasia Korolov received the Amos Emerson Dolbear Scholarship. The Dolbear scholarships are awarded to seniors who have shown promise in the field of either physics or electrical engineering.

    Jed McKinney received the Class of 1911 Prize Scholarship, honoring seniors of engaging personality who, from matriculation as freshmen to their senior year, have made the most progress as measured both by academic record and by successful participation in extracurricular activities of enduring worth.

    John Merfeld received the Ellen C. Myers Memorial Prize, awarded to a junior or senior who has shown character, diligence, and perseverance in achieving high scholarship standards in the face of adverse circumstances while working toward a bachelor's degree at Tufts University.

    Freddy Saia received the Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award, recognizing outstanding academic work in any of the sciences by a student who is a scholarship recipient.

    Zachary Pagel received the Benjamin G. Brown Scholarship, awarded to seniors who have shown promise in scientific research in fields other than chemistry.

    This year's recipients of the Howard Sample Prize Scholarship in Physics for outstanding performance in Physics 11 and Physics 12 are:

    • Mathias Barth
    • Matthew Chang
    • Xizhao Chen
    • Xinzhi Guo
    • Elias Marcopoulos
    • Ely Novakoski
    • Rayleigh Parker
    • Yonatan Segev
    • Hermes Suen

Sigma Pi Sigma

Sigma Pi Sigma Founded in 1921, Sigma Pi Sigma is a member honor society of the Association of College Honor Societies. It exists to honor outstanding scholarship in physics; to encourage interest in physics among students at all levels; to promote an attitude of service of its members towards their fellow students, colleagues, and the public; to provide a fellowship of persons who have excelled in physics. Election to Sigma Pi Sigma is a lifetime membership, and the society has some 75,000 historical members. We are pleased to honor our Tufts majors who have been nominated for membership in this society. 

    • Elias Benghiat
    • Connor Courtney
    • Rachel Eaglin
    • Cate Fagen
    • Kaycee Feldman
    • Elizabeth Foster
    • Emmett  Hamilton
    • Claudia Henry
    • Efe Eren Inan
    • Evan Meyer
    • Trisha Musall
    • Toki Nishikawa
    • Bridget O'Hearn
    • Rebecca Skantar
    • Kevin Tang
    • Liliko Uchida
    • Param Upadhyay
    • Mathis Weber
    • Yongqi Zhang
    • Henry Zou
    • Henry Adair
    • Matais Aranguiz
    • Eli Beutel
    • Allison Culbert
    • Alexander Denby
    • Marc Descoteaux
    • Will Deucher
    • Eoghan Downey
    • Alyssa Eakman
    • Benjamin Harris
    • Lilianna Houston
    • Joseph Hyatt
    • Maxwell Kaye
    • Benjamin Maloy
    • Sean Moushegian
    • Reed Spitzer
    • Cole Wennerholm
    • Donovan Brady
    • Bayley Cornish
    • Ryan Donaldson
    • Jared Hwang
    • David Janowsky
    • Samantha Livermore
    • Teddy Pena
    • Kai Stewart
    • Jacob Sunnerberg
    • Thomas Magerlein
    • James Miller
    • Jonathan Minoff
    • Ben Nissan
    • Ely Novakoski
    • Rayleigh Parker
    • Benjamin Zager
    • Cassidy Driscoll
    • Lisa Fantini
    • Sydney Holway
    • Taiyi Hua
    • Jingcheng Huang
    • Thomas Keller
    • Justin Lee
    • James McDowell
    • John McGowan
    • Jed McKinney
    • Peter Riley
    • William Simon
    • Daniel Spencer
    • Emily Van Milligen
    • Glenn VanWinkle