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RESEARCH

MIT PAPPALARDO FELLOWSHIPS IN PHYSICS

  1. Program Overview

  2. Program Administration

  3. Pappalardo Fellowships 2009-10 Executive Committee

  4. Pappalardo Fellows: Lists of Current, Incoming and Former Fellows

  5. Pappalardo Fellows: Biographies

  6. Pappalardo Fellowships Program Founder: A. Neil Pappalardo (EE '64)

  7. Pappalardo Fellowships 2010-2013 Competition: Nominations are now being accepted until Friday, September 11, 2009

  8. Pappalardo Fellows: Research Highlights

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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