MIT Department of Physics: Pappalardo Fellowships in Physics

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MIT PAPPALARDO FELLOWSHIPS IN PHYSICS

Program Overview

The mission of the MIT Pappalardo Fellowships in Physics is to sustain a distinguished, on-campus postdoctoral fellowship program for the Department that identifies, recruits and supports the most talented and promising young physicists at an early stage of their careers. This initiative was made possible by the encouragement and generosity of Mr. A. Neil Pappalardo (EE '64), an MIT alumnus with a long history of generosity to both the Institute and the Department of Physics.

The program traditionally appoints three new Fellows per academic year for a three-year fellowship term each. Fellows are selected by means of an annual competition for which candidates cannot apply directly, but must be nominated by a faculty member or senior researcher within the international community of physics, astronomy or related fields. All MIT Pappalardo Fellows in Physics are provided with:

complete independence in selection and focus of research direction within the MIT Department of Physics throughout their three-year fellowship term;
active faculty mentoring fostered by weekly luncheons and monthly dinners with faculty and guests during the academic year, which promotes scientific exchange and professional growth for the Fellows;
a competitive annual stipend with an annual cost-of-living increase, combined with $5,000 per year in discretionary research funds; and
MIT Medical health insurance coverage for Fellows and their dependents.

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Program Administration

The Physics Department Head appoints the members of the program's Executive Committee, which includes a rotating faculty membership responsible for the review, evaluation, and selection of candidates, and one staff Administrator who directly administers the program.

The Pappalardo Fellows themselves are responsible for the selection, pursuit, and development of research within physics, astronomy or related fields, as well as active participation in the scientific and social activities of the program and MIT physics community.

These goals are largley accomplished by on-campus collaboration with a particular physics faculty member and his/her research group, physics colloquia attendance, and regular participation in the Fellows' weekly luncheons and monthly dinners, which take place at MIT during the academic year.

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Executive Committee: 2009-10 Academic Year

Young S. Lee Associate Professor of Physics	Condensed Matter Experiment
Nergis Mavalvala Associate Professor of Physics; Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor	Experimental Astrophysics
John W. Negele William A. Coolidge Professor of Physics	Theoretical Particle Physics
Gabriella Sciolla Associate Professor of Physics; Cecil and Ida Green Career Development Professor	Experimental High Energy Physics
Washington Taylor Professor of Physics	String Theory
Max Tegmark , Chair Associate Professor of Physics	Cosmology
Alexander van Oudenaarden Professor of Physics; Keck Career Development Professor in Biomedical Engineering	Biophysics
Xiao-Gang Wen Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics	Condensed Matter Theory
Edmund Bertschinger, Department Head, Physics, Ex Officio	Theoretical Astrophysics
Carol Breen Communications & Pappalardo Fellowships Program Administrator

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Pappalardo Fellows in Physics: 2008–09 Academic Year

Dr. Mustafa Amin 2008-11	Theoretical Astrophysics
Dr. James Battat 2008-11	Experimental Astrophysics; Experimental Nuclear & Particle Physics
Dr. Jeffrey Gore 2007-10	Biophysics
Dr. Nitya Kallivayalil 2007-10	Experimental Astrophysics
Dr. Lu Li 2008-11	Condensed Matter Experiment
Dr. Jocelyn Monroe 2006-09	Experimental Nuclear & Particle Physics
Dr. Yusuke Nishida 2008-11	Nuclear & Particle Theory
Dr. Paola Rebusco 2007-10	Theoretical Astrophysics
Dr. Jacob Taylor 2006-09	Hard Condensed Matter Theory

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Pappalardo Fellows in Physics: 2009-12 Incoming Fellows

Paul Chesler University of Washington	Nuclear & Particle Theory
David Hsieh Princeton University	Condensed Matter Experiment
Fa Wang University of California, Berkeley	Hard Condensed Matter Theory

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Pappalardo Fellows in Physics: Former Fellows

Marija Drndic, Associate Professor of Physics, University of Pennsylvania	Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
Henriette Elvang, Postdoctoral Fellow, IAS, Princeton	String Theory
Michael (Misha) Fogler, Associate Professor of Physics University of San Diego	Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
Joshua Folk, Assistant Professor of Physics University of British Columbia, Vancouver	Experimental Condensed Matter Physics
Margaret Gardel, Assistant Professor of Physics University of Chicago	Biophysics
Ilya Gruzberg, Associate Professor of Physics University of Chicago	Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
Matthew Headrick, Assistant Professor of Physics Brandeis University	String Theory
Walter Hofstetter, Professor of Physics, Institut für Theoretische Physik, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität, Frankfurt am Main, Germany	Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
David Kaplan, Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow	Experimental Astrophysics
David Kielpinski, Assistant Professor of Physics Griffith University, Australia	Atomic Physics
Benjamin Lane, Research Associate MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics & Space Research	Experimental Astrophysics
Michael Miller, Research Assistant Professor University of Washington	Experimental Particle Physics
J. Michael Niczyporuk, Management Consultant, Washington, DC	Theoretical Particle Physics
Carlos Nunez, Lecturer [Assistant Professor] University of Swansea, Wales	String Theory
Katherine Rawlins, Assistant Professor of Physics University of Alaska	Gravitational-wave Astronomy
Gabriella Sciolla, Associate Professor of Physics MIT	Experimental High Energy Physics
Robert Simcoe, Assistant Professor of Physics MIT	Experimental Astrophysics
Marin Soljacic, Assistant Professor of Physics MIT	Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
David Tong, Lecturer [Assistant Professor] University of Cambridge	String Theory
Arpita Upadhyaya, Assistant Professor of Physics University of Maryland	Biophysics
Ashvin Vishwanath, Associate Professor of Physics University of California, Berkeley	Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics
Olivia White, Associate, McKinsey & Company	Soft Condensed Matter Theory

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