Undergraduate Scholarships and Awards

The Cornwell Prize is given to a graduating Physics major who has demonstrated intellectual curiosity and given promise of original study and creative work. The award can be made to honor research, teaching, or any other contributions made to the intellectual life of the Department.

Award Amount: $5,000

Number Awarded: Up to two students per year

Award Criteria:

    Student must:

• Graduate in the current academic year 
• Be a declared Physics major
• Have a GPA of at least 3.5
• Have been involved in research while an undergraduate student
• Submit one letter of recommendation from a Physics faculty member

Deadline: Student completes the application and submits it to the Student Services Office (1440 Randall) no later than 5 p.m. on the second Monday in March. The prize is awarded in early April. 

Apply: Wirt & Mary Cornwall Prize Application

The 2022 recipients of the Wirt & Mary Cornwell Prize for Undergraduates were Bernie Dong and Jiaming Pan.

This award is established in memory of Professor William L. Williams to honor an outstanding undergraduate thesis. The award recognizes a student who exhibits excellence in posing a question, conducting independent investigation, and determining an answer.

Award Criteria: You must be a University of Michigan student receiving a bachelor's degree in Physics in the current academic year.

Award Amount: $5,000

Number Awarded: One student per year

How to Proceed: Please send your completed thesis in PDF format to physics.sso@umich.edu. A supporting letter by the thesis advisor is required. Among other things, the letter should include a description of the specific, independent contributions of the student to the thesis. Additional supporting letters are optional, but encouraged. 

Deadline: Submit materials to the Student Services Office (physics.sso@umich.edu) by 5 p.m. on the last Monday in March. The awardee is chosen in early April.

The 2022 recipients of the William L. Williams Award were Jiaming Pan and Joseph Ryan.

Patrick Dahlin was a Fall 2014 admit to the College of Engineering at the University of Michigan. Early on in his freshman year, Patrick discovered an interest in astrophysics that eventually led him to switch to the College of LSA and declare majors in the Departments of Astronomy and Physics. Patrick proved himself to be a very strong student and researcher, maintaining a near perfect GPA in his coursework, before his passing in October 2016. This award was established through a generous gift to the department to honor his memory and to recognize the anticipated contribution to the field of physics by promising students. Students are nominated by Physics and Astronomy faculty; the Physics Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies decides on the final awardee(s). 

Award Criteria: An undergraduate pursuing a major in Physics who shows great promise in their studies and/or research involvement. 

Award Amount: $1,000 if to one student; $500 each if to two students

Number Awarded: up to two students per year

The 2022 recipients of the Patrick Dahlin Memorial Award were Bryan Helz and Samara Steinfeld.

This prize is for non-graduating physics students who show great promise and progress in their academic efforts. This award is given to students based on faculty nominations and the deliberation of the Undergraduate Awards Committee.

Award Criteria: You must be a University of Michigan student working towards a bachelor's degree in Physics in the current academic year.

Award Amount: up to $3,000 

Number Awarded: Varies; dependent on the competitiveness of the nominees. 

The 2022 recipients of the Otho Lyle Tiffany & Mary Lois Tiffany Fellowship were Elise Kesler and Ruide Xu.

Walter W. Wada was a native of California who received his Bachelor's of Science degree from the University of Utah and later received his PhD in Physics from the University of Michigan. During World War II, Dr. Wada, who was a Japanese-American, was interred in a concentration camp within the U.S. after Imperial Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor. Despite his experience in forced relocation and incarceration by his own government, Dr. Wada went on to serve his country through service as a nuclear physicist for the U.S. Navy's secret Naval Research Lab in Washington D.C. He also had a prestigious academic career first at Northwestern University and then at The Ohio State University until his retirement in 1989. Dr. Wada made extensive contributions towards research to national and international centers for theoretical high energy physics. 

The Walter W. Wada Award seeks to honor his memory by recognizing an undergraduate student who has sought out ways to build community, increase cultural understanding, and/or promote respect for diversity within the STEM and/or physics community at large. In this way, the Physics Department wants to encourage students who are advocating for the inclusion of all persons within science and the prodigious contributions that everyone is capable and welcomed to bring. 

Award Criteria: Nominees should be undergraduate University of Michigan students studying physics. Students are nominated by any member of the University of Michigan community (faculty, student, or staff). 

Nominations are due the second Monday in March and can be emailed to physics.sso@umich.edu. The award is decided by the Physics Department DEI Committee in early April. 

Award Amount: $750.00

Number Awarded: One student per year

The 2021 recipient of the Walter W. Wada Award was Kevin Zvonarek.