With the announcement that physics alumna Dr. Kelly Cooper Younge (’05) has been awarded the Gustavus Alumni Association’s First Decade Award, this brings the number of physics alumni who have won that prestigious award to nine in the past 20 years. Past winners include Dr. Chad Olinger (’85), Dr. James Wade (’86), Dr. Annette Boman (’88), Dr. Kirsten Tollefson (’92), Dr. Debra Lightly Mascaro (’95), Dr. Jason Smerdon (’98), Dr. Brian Smith (’00) an Dr. Michael Bland (’02).
After receiving her PhD in Applied Physics from the University of Michigan in 2010, for work in quantum optics involving Rydberg-like atoms, Kelly changed her focus and embarked upon a three-year residency there in medical physics. That was followed by a year as a staff medical physicist in Mississauga, ON. Currently, Kelly is a faculty medical physicist at the University of Michigan, and her work is focused on radiation therapies for cancer patients. She is pictured at the Alumni Association’s awards banquet on May 30, 2015, along with Steve Mellema (’72), Professor and Chair of Physics.