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Illinois Physics graduate student Shraddha Agrawal wins runner-up in APS historical essay contest

9/27/2022 Siv Schwink for Illinois Physics

 Illinois Physics graduate student Shraddha Agrawal was selected runner-up in the 2022 APS Forum on the History and Philosophy of Physics (FHPP) Essay Contest, of the American Physical Society.

Agrawal's essay, “The sunny side of Anna Mani,” highlights the scientific achievements of Anna Mani, a female scientist in India, who studied under Nobel laureate CV Raman, but whose work is often overlooked. According to Agrawal, Mani’s contributions to the physics of diamonds, weather instrumentation, and renewable energy research are still relevant today.

Written by Siv Schwink for Illinois Physics

Shraddha Agrawal, 2021 recipient, Charles P. Slichter FellowshipIllinois Physics graduate student Shraddha Agrawal was selected runner-up in the 2022 APS Forum on the History and Philosophy of Physics (FHPP) Essay Contest.

Agrawal's essay, “The sunny side of Anna Mani,” highlights the scientific achievements of Anna Mani, a female scientist who studied under Nobel laureate CV Raman, but whose work is often overlooked. According to Agrawal, Mani’s contributions to the physics of diamonds, weather instrumentation, and renewable energy research are still relevant today.

In her research, Agrawal uses ultracold atomic gases to explore novel topological phenomena. She is a member of the Illinois Physics Professor Bryce Gadway's research group, the second member of this group to receive an award in the FHPP Essay contest: Illinois Physics graduate student Garrett Williams won the 2020 FHPP Essay contest.

You can read Agrawal's essay here.

Madeline Stover is a physics doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying atmospheric dynamics applied to forest conservation. She interns as a science writer for Illinois Physics, where she also co-hosts the podcast Emergence along with fellow physics graduate student Mari Cieszynski. When Stover is not doing research or communications, she enjoys hosting her local radio show, singing with her band, and cooking with friends.

Daniel Inafuku graduated from Illinois Physics with a PhD and now works as a science writer. At Illinois, he conducted scientific research in mathematical biology and mathematical physics. In addition to his research interests, Daniel is a science video media creator.

Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Ph. D. is a science writer and an educator. She teaches college and high school physics and mathematics courses, and her writing has been published in popular science outlets such as WIRED, Scientific American, Physics World, and New Scientist. She earned a Ph. D. in Physics from UIUC in 2019 and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Jamie Hendrickson is a writer and content creator in higher education communications. They earned their M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2021. In addition to their communications work, they are a published area studies scholar and Russian-to-English translator.

Garrett R. Williams is an Illinois Physics Ph.D. Candidate and science writer. He has been recognized as the winner of the 2020 APS History of Physics Essay Competition and as a finalist in the 2021 AAAS Science and Human Rights Essay Competition. He was also an invited author in the 2021 #BlackinPhysics Week series published by Physics Today and Physics World. 

 

Karmela Padavic-Callaghan, Ph. D. is a science writer and an educator. She teaches college and high school physics and mathematics courses, and her writing has been published in popular science outlets such as WIRED, Scientific American, Physics World, and New Scientist. She earned a Ph. D. in Physics from UIUC in 2019 and currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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This story was published September 27, 2022.