Fellowships & Awards

The Colegrove Fellowship for graduate study is sponsored by funding from Barbara Colegrove. It provides full stipend, tuition, fees, and health insurance for one academic year.

H. Richard Crane served as a faculty member in the Physics Department from 1934 to 1978, serving as department chairman from 1964 to 1972. Professor Crane established himself as one of the most distinguished experimental physicists of the twentieth century. His work on nuclear physics and the physics of accelerators led to the invention of the Race Track Synchrotron. He was a pioneer in such things as the measurements on the gyro-magnetic ratio of the free electron and his analyses of helical structures in molecules contributed significantly to genetic research. Professor Crane expressed a sincere interest and dedication to physics pedagogy and training future educators of physics. 

The Physics Department honors his memory by providing the H.R. Crane Fellowship to five first-year students. This fellowship provides funds to incoming students that are above and beyond the traditional funding package to conduct research and study the summer before matriculation, as well as their first summer in the program. Students chosen for this award are done so based off of their identified potential to make great improvements or contributions to physics. Students are notified of the award via a letter from the department at the time of admission.   

A member of the Michigan physics faculty for more than three decades, Kent Terwilliger was internationally recognized for his leadership and achievements in particle physics. This annual award is given to a graduate student for the most outstanding Ph.D. thesis in physics.

Award Criteria: The selection criteria for this prize are the scholarship and importance of the research and its presentation in the doctoral dissertation. The timely completion of graduate studies is an important consideration as well. In addition:

1) The doctoral chair or co-chair must be a faculty member of the Physics Department
2) The doctoral degree must be either in Physics or in a joint program that includes Physics
3) The oral thesis must be defended by the end of the current winter term
4) The thesis must have been completed and submitted the previous year

Award Amount: $7,500

Number Awarded: One student per year 

To Apply: Students must submit a copy of their theis and have at least one letter of support from a faculty member. 

Deadline: Submit materials to the Physics Student Services Office (physics.sso@umich.edu) by the fourth Monday in March. This prize is awarded by a faculty committee each April.

The family of Marcellus Lee "Marc" Wiedenbeck established this award to honor Marc Wiedenbeck's 40 years of service on the Michigan faculty. The Wiedenbeck Award is presented to a graduate student that exemplifies outstanding teaching abilities.

Award Criteria:

1) Teaching evaluation scores
2) Student comments on teaching evaluations
3) Feedback from faculty supervisors
4) Feedback from lab supervisors
5) Portfolio submitted by student containing: a) class materials (handouts, quizzes etc.) developed by student b) a brief overview written by the student of the instructional materials used in the course c) any additional material the student wishes to submit

Award Amount: at least $2,500

Number Awarded: one per year (up to two when exceptional candidates exist)

To Apply: Students must submit a portfolio to Student Services (1440 Randall Lab) containing:

a) class materials (handouts, quizzes etc.) developed by student 
b) a brief overview written by the student of the instructional materials used in the course 
c) any additional material the student wishes to submit.

Deadline: Students can self-nominate by emailing the Physics Student Services Office, physics.sso@umich.edu, by the fourth Monday in March. The faculty committee will review the cases of all nominated students. They will narrow the field to between 3 and 5 candidates. Each finalist will be asked to discuss his/her portfolio in a 20-minute interview with the committee. A winner will be selected following these presentations. 

Funded by a bequest from the Cornwell family, the Wirt and Mary Cornwell Prize is awarded solely on the basis of merit. The Prize is distributed to a uniquely qualified graduate student who, during the four previous years, shall have demonstrated the greatest intellectual curiosity [and] given most promise of original study and creative work in one of six disciplines - one being physics.

Award Amount: at least $10,000

Number Awarded: one per year (or two when exceptional candidates exist)

Award Criteria: Eligible students shall be drawn from the pool of those who have passed the Qualifying Examination.

Other factors include:

1. Grades in graduate courses
2. Independent study
3. Research experience and accomplishments
4. Demonstrations of intellectual initiative and originality
5. Any other evidence of creative activity and potential shall be a factor, such as reports or papers written, apparatus designed or constructed, experiments carried out, and other notable citations received or academic competitions won.

To Apply: Students must submit a copy of their CV and have at least one letter of support from a faculty member. 

Deadline: CVs and letters of support may be submitted to Student Services Office, physics.sso@umich.edu, by the fourth Monday in March. The prize is awarded in the month of April.

The Physics Department seeks to annually recognize the efforts of its students in building a better environment for its members through the Community Engagement Award. Those nominated must be Physics graduate students who have proactively worked during the year to improve the overall department community (on either a large or small scale) and sought to incoporate diversity, equity, and inclusion ideals within their interactions and efforts.

Students can be nominated by faculty, staff, other students, and/or members of the community. We ask that nominations are accompanied by a short explanation of why the student should be considered for the award. Up to three recipients will be selected by the faculty on the DEI Committee and recognized at the end of year Graduate Student Awards and Graduation Ceremony. Recipients also receive a $600 monetary prize. 

Nominations are due to physics.sso@umich.edu by the fourth Monday in March. Decisions on the awardees will be made by mid-April. 

Peter Franken was a leading member of the Michigan physics faculty for two decades whose contributions include pioneering discoveries in non-linear optics, novel developments in spectroscopy, and detailed studies of physical symmetries.

Award Criteria: The Franken Award is presented every year to honor outstanding work by a first- or second-year Physics graduate student. Selection factors will include grades in graduate courses, involvement in research, and a letter of support from the student's advisor.

Award Amount: $5,000

Number Awarded: one per year

To Apply: The student’s faculty advisor must submit a letter of nomination and support which includes the student’s involvement in research.

Deadline: Materials must be submitted to the Student Services Office, physics.sso@umich.edu, by the fourth Monday in March. This prize is awarded by a faculty committee each April.

The Frank Sevcik Award is awarded to a committed physics student who enhances the international environment of the University and plans to contribute to academic, government, or corporate research communities based in the United States.