Physics Graduate Students Earn Presidential Fellowships
The Department of Physics continues to demonstrate the strength of its graduate program, with an impressive nine students receiving The Ohio State University Graduate School's prestigious Presidential Fellowship over the past two academic years.
Awarded to graduate students entering the final stage of their dissertation research or terminal degree project, the Presidential Fellowship is the Graduate School's highest honor for doctoral students. The fellowship recognizes exceptional scholarly achievement and outstanding potential for future success.
The 2025 winners were Poulomi Chakraborty, Charles Mace, Brandon Manley, Erik Zaborowski and Yuxin Zhang. In 2026 Sayak Biswas, Xueshi Gao, Katherine Laliotis and Obada Nairat received the award.
Aatmaj Rajesh named 2026 Goldwater Scholar
Aatmaj Rajesh has been named a 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholar. He is a junior Honors student majoring in Physics with a minor in Mathematics. He works with Dr. Chun Ning Jeanie Lau on experimental condensed matter physics, fabricating 2-D material devices, and with Dr. Brian Skinner in theoretical condensed matter and quantum information science.
The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the most prestigious academic honors in the nation for undergraduate students pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics, recognizing both past work and future for potential in research.
Beyond his research, Aatmaj is deeply committed to STEM leadership and mentorship. He serves as Chief Operations Officer of the Be W.I.S.E Initiative, leads the Quantum Club at OSU, and a mentor to students through the Physics Momentum Mentorship program.
Looking ahead, Aatmaj plans to pursue a PhD in Condensed Matter Physics and ultimately run his own lab translating fundamental physics into quantum technologies that advance science and society.
Physics Students Shine at APS Fall Meeting
Four undergraduate physics majors represented the department at the 2025 Fall Meeting of the Eastern Great Lakes Section of the American Physical Society in Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Tianhao Jin and John Scott presented research talks, while Maggie Ramsey and Cole Steele shared their work through poster presentations. John Scott earned the award for Best Undergraduate Presentation for his talk titled "Stellar Intensity Interferometry measurements on the binary system Alpha Virginis."
Andrew Engel Awarded Fellowships
Third-year graduate student Andrew Engel has been awarded both a 2-year Translational Data Analytics Institute (TDAI) Graduate Student Fellowship and a Legacy Survey of Space and Time Data Science Fellowship Program (LSST-DSFP).
The fellowship programs will allow Andrew to investigate the intersection of AI and Astrophysics. The LSST-DSFP is a travel and learning fellowship that brings students from across the world together to learn skills necessary for the massive treasure-trove of data that will be the Rubin Survey. The Inaugural TDAI graduate student fellowship is a service and research-based fellowship that will provide resources for Andrew to form a community of practice around the topics of AI for science and AI in society.
Mathew Leon awarded SMART Scholarship
Department of Physics Graduate Student, Mathew Leon, has been awarded a 2026 SMART Scholarship from the US Department of War. The SMART (Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation) Scholarship is "...a unique opportunity for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics students to advance their education and jumpstart their careers.
Mat will do internships at the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command (SMDC) Technical Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where he will work in the Directed Energy Research Division. Specifically, Mat will work on a project related to interactions between ultrashort pulsed lasers and materials, which connects to SMDC’s efforts in high-energy laser technologies to counter rockets, drones, and other threats. The research he does at OSU will be aimed at the development of next-generation laser technologies for attosecond spectroscopy.
Physics and Astronomy Graduate and Undergraduate Students Receive NSF Graduate Fellowship Honors
The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees. 2,600 Fellowships were awarded this year to graduating seniors and first- and second-year graduate students to ensure the vitality of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States.
The OSU Undergraduate students who received the award were Rachel White/Astronomy & Astrophysics major, Phoenix-Avery Sarian/Astronomy & Astrophysics major, and Alexander Torres/Astronomy & Astrophysics and Physics major.
Graduate student Jack Etheridge, who has a research focus in Condensed Matter Theory received honorable mention.
Alex Schimmoller and Danielle Wampler Awarded Graduate Associate Leadership Award
Alex Schimmoller, Department of Physics graduate student, was named a recipient of the 2026 Graduate Associate Leadership Award (GALA) for demonstrating exceptional leadership within the university and the broader community.
In the previous year, Department of Physics graduate student Danielle Wampler was selected to receive the 2025 Graduate Associate Leadership Award.
The Award is the Graduate School’s recognition of the exceptional leadership provided by graduate students as leaders on, and off campus while being an OSU graduate student.
Grad Student Zoe Phillips wins ASC 3MT Competition
Department of Physics graduate student, Zoe Phillips won the College of Arts and Sciences Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition with her submission, "Integration of Molecular Qubits into 2D Heterostructures for All-Electrical Readout." She was awarded first place and moved on to compete in the university-wide 3MT competition in February of 2026.
The 3MT is an academic competition for doctoral and master’s students engaged in their own research, summarizing it to an educated layperson in 3 minutes or less, using pre-determined guidelines. A panel of judges scored each student to determine the top awardees. This prestigious award comes with a scholarship from the College of Arts and Sciences and entrance into the university-wide Three Minute Thesis Competition. Read more about 3MT on the Grad School website.