Honors and awards

Each year, Illinois Physics recognizes student excellence at a special awards banquet. In 2019, the Fortieth Physics-on-the-Campus Luncheon was held at the Illini Union on Wednesday, April 24. Many of the awards are made possible through the generous support of our alumni.

Group of people getting food from a buffet table
Faculty, staff, students, and students’ families enjoy a buffet lunch at the Illini Union prior to the student recognition Ceremony on April 25, 2019. All photos by Darrell Hoemann.
Man in suit speaking at podium
Head of Department and Professor Matthias Grosse Perdekamp welcomes honorees and their families to the luncheon and awards ceremony.
Group of teaching assistants posing with award certificates
Teaching Assistants voted outstanding by their students are recognized during the ceremony. This is a small representation of our TAs ranked 'excellent teachers' each semester.
group of students holding award certificates
The 2018/19 Society of Physics Students officers are recognized for their service to the physics student body at Illinois. Pictured left to right are local chapter Secretary Iain Carpenter, Treasurer Jamie Milota, Vice President Anil Radhakrishnan, President Jacquelyn Schmidt, Internal Affairs Officer Andi Mankolli, and Charity Officer Peyton Pielet.
Young man in suit posing with his parents at banquet table
Imran Sultan and his parents pose for a photo before the luncheon. Graduating senior Sultan was recognized for finishing in the top 3 percent of his class, qualifying him to have his name engraved on the 2019 University Honors Bronze Tablet displayed in the Main Library.

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Barry Bradlyn receives NSF CAREER Award

Illinois Physics Assistant Professor Barry Bradlyn has been selected for a 2020 National Science Foundation CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) Award. This award is conferred annually in support of junior faculty who excel in the role of teacher-scholars by integrating outstanding research programs with excellent educational programs. Receipt of this award also reflects great promise for a lifetime of leadership within the recipients’ respective fields.

Bradlyn is a theoretical condensed matter physicist whose work studying the novel quantum properties inherent in topological insulators and topological semimetals has already shed new light on these extraordinary systems. Among his contributions, he developed a real-space formulation of topological band theory, allowing for the prediction of many new topological insulators and semimetals.

  • Accolades
Sangjin Kim named Searle Scholar

The Kinship Foundation of Chicago has named University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Physics Professor Sangjin Kim a 2020 Searle Scholar. Kim will receive $300,000 in research funding from the Searle Foundation over the next three years. Kim will use the funds to explore the properties and processes of allostery in DNA. Kim shares this distinction with one other U. of I. faculty member named this year, Chemistry Professor Lisa Olshansky.

  • Accolades
Philip Phillips elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

[image:40825 class:fleft]University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Physics Professor Philip Phillips has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest honor societies in the nation.

The 2020 class comprises 276 new members, including artists, scholars, scientists and leaders in the public, nonprofit and private sectors. U. of I. Computer Science Professor Sarita V. Adve was also elected this year.

  • Accolades
  • Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
Bryce Gadway selected for NSF CAREER Award

Illinois Physics Assistant Professor Bryce Gadway has been selected for a 2020 National Science Foundation CAREER (Faculty Early Career Development) Award. This award is conferred annually in support of junior faculty who excel in the role of teacher-scholars by integrating outstanding research programs with excellent educational programs. Receipt of this award also reflects great promise for a lifetime of leadership within the recipients’ respective fields.

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