Archive for 2015Page 2

Alumni Profile – Amanda Hochstatter ‘11

Amanda is currently a High School Physics Teacher with the New York City Department of Education. She holds an MAT in secondary physics education. “Gustavus taught me the value of investing in and balancing various interests to become an individual full of experiences, talents, and passions.  These days, there is so much emphasis on specializing […]

Alumni Profile – Nathan Blair ‘92

Nate is currently Senior Energy Analyst with World Bank Group (temporary assignment from the US National Renewable Energy Lab). He earned an MS in Mechanical Engineer and an MBA in Technical Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I often joke that it was the J-term FORTRAN class that I used technically the most after leaving […]

Alumni Profile – Sarah Ahlberg ’03

Sarah is currently Principal Scientist at Medtronic Inc. She earned a MS in Biomedical Engineering in 2005 and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2007. “Gustavus taught me the value of investing in and balancing various interests to become a individual full of experiences, talents, and passions. These days, there is so much emphasis on specializing […]

Alumni Profile – Sarah E. Fredericks ’01

Sarah is currently Assistant Professor of Environmental Ethics at the University of Chicago Divinity School. She earned a PhD in Science, Philosophy, and Religion from the Division of Religious and Theological Studies, Boston University in 2008. “While at Gustavus we talked a lot about the idea of vocation, of using one’s talents in a way that could […]

Gustavus Physics Senior Appears in “The SPS Observer”

Gustavus physics major Lindsay Rothschiller ’15 had an article appear in the Winter 2014-15 issue of The SPS Observer, the national publication of the Society of Physics Students. In the article Lindsay describes her research work on environmental sustainability, which was conducted last summer in Sweden under the auspices of a grant from the Wallenberg […]

2015 Gustavus Sigma Pi Sigma Induction Banquet

On May 4, 2015, the Gustavus physics department held its annual banquet to induct new members into the national physics honor society, Sigma Pi Sigma. Thirteen members of the graduating class of 2015 were elected to membership.The banquet was attended by faculty, students and some families of the honored inductees. Our guest speaker was Dr. […]

Two Sophomore Women Receive National Awards

Two Gustavus sophomore physics majors were just announced as winners of Rossing Physics Scholarships for 2015-2016. These awards are made to “exemplary students in physics” by the Thomas D. Rossing Fund for Physics Education. Mikaela Algren ’17 was named a Rossing Physics Scholar and Grace Kerber ’17 was named a Rossing Physics Scholar–Honorable Mention. The […]

Gustavus First Decade Award Winners

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 […]

Top Liberal Arts Origins of Physics Ph.D.’s

In the latest data from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Gustavus’ physics program is fourth among the top liberal arts colleges in America in terms of the number of graduates who go on to earn a Ph.D. in physics. In the NSF survey from 2004-2013, here are the top liberal arts colleges with their total […]

Jason Smerdon ’98 on NPR’s Science Friday

Gustavus physics alumnus Dr. Jason Smerdon (’98) was interviewed by NPR’s Ira Flatow on the February 13, 2015 broadcast of Science Friday. Jason, who is an Associate Research Professor at the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, is a co-author on a recent paper studying the possibility of future mega-droughts due to increasing greenhouse […]