PaNE Graduation Awards Descriptions | U.S. Military Academy West Point

Advanced Physics Awards

The Gerald Counts Award is presented to the cadet with the most outstanding performance in the Physics Major. This award is named for BG Gerald Counts, Head of the Department of Physics 1931 to 1946 and the Department of Physics and Chemistry from 1946 to 1957.

PH365 (Modern Physics) – The Einstein Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade on the PH365 TEE. Albert Einstein developed the theories of special relativity and general relativity and made important contributions to the development of modern quantum mechanics in the early twentieth century. PH381 (Intermediate Classical Mechanics) – The Euler-Lagrange Award is presented to the cadet with the highest homework average in PH381. The Euler-Lagrange equation is central to the calculus of variations.

PH382 (Intermediate Electrodynamics) – The Maxwell Award is presented to the cadet with the highest final grade in PH382. James Clerk Maxwell formulated the classical theory of electricity and magnetism.

PH384 (Optics) – The Fermat Award is presented to the cadet with the highest final grade in PH384. Pierre de Fermat’s principle states that a light ray will travel along a path between two points in space that takes the least amount of time.

PH456 (Science and Policy) – The C. P. Snow Award is presented to the cadet with the best policy paper in PH456. The English physicist Charles Percy Snow authored the 1961 book Science and Government.

PH481 (Statistical Physics) – The Boltzmann Award is presented to the cadet with the highest WPR average in PH481. Ludwig Boltzmann made significant early contributions to statistical and thermal physics.

PH482 (Advanced Classical Mechanics) – The Kepler Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade on the PH482 final project. Johannes Kepler formulated phenomenological laws of planetary motion based on the observational work of Tycho Brahe.

PH484 (Quantum Mechanics) – The Dirac Award is presented to the cadet with the highest PH484 TEE grade. Paul Dirac formulated the relativistic quantum wave equation for the electron.

PH485 (Lasers) – The Theodore H. Maiman ‘First to Lase’ Award is presented to the first group to successfully operate their open-cavity laser in PH485. Maiman is the inventor of the first laser.

PH486 (Experimental Physics) – The Faraday Award is presented to a cadet or cadets with the highest WPR average in PH486. The award is named for Michael Faraday, a renowned nineteenth century experimentalist who contributed to the development of electromagnetism. Faraday kept meticulous research and laboratory notes which allowed others to recreate his experiments.

PH487 (Advanced Quantum Mechanics) – The Hertha Sponer Award is presented to a cadet or cadets with highest PH487 TEE grade. Hertha Sponer is a renowned twentieth century theoretical physicist whose work greatly contributed to modern quantum mechanics and molecular physics.

Space Science Program Awards

The Jackson Space Science Award is presented to the Space Science Major with the highest quality point average in the Space Science courses. It is named for Gary D. Jackson (USMA, 1966), a physicist, and wounded Vietnam veteran, who brought the department into the age of the laser.

SP471 (Astronautics) – The Johnson Analytics Award is presented to the cadet who achieves the highest grade in SP471. The award is named after Katherine Johnson, a renowned African American mathematician whose prowess with analytical geometry and associated calculations helped synch Project Apollo’s Lunar Lander with the moon-orbiting Command and Service Module.

SP472 (Space Physics) – The Van Allen Award is presented to the cadet who achieves the highest grade in SP472. The award is named after James Alfred Van Allen, the American scientist who was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space.

SP473 (Observational Astronomy) – The Brahe’s Observatory Award is presented to the cadet with the best overall observation journal and associated report. The award is named for the astronomer Tycho Brahe, whose observations were the basis for the development of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.

SP474 (Astrophysics) –The Hubble Award is presented to the cadet who achieves the highest grade in SP474, Astrophysics. The award is named after Edwin Powell Hubble, an American astronomer who played a crucial role in establishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology.

The W. E. Serchak Astronomy Award is presented to the cadet who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in Astronomy and made a significant impact on the Astronomy Club. It is named for COL(R) William Serchak (USMA, 1958), who was instrumental in keeping the West Point Observatory in operation during his time as a cadet.

Nuclear Engineering Program Awards

The Sewell Tappan Tyng Award is presented to the cadet with the most outstanding performance in the Nuclear Engineering Core Engineering Sequence. Nuclear Engineering majors are not eligible for this award.

The LTG Leslie R. Groves Award is presented to the cadet with the most outstanding performance in the Nuclear Engineering Major. To be eligible for the award a cadet must earn at least a B- in all required courses taken in the Departments of Civil and Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mathematical Sciences as well as in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering.

NE300 (Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering) – The Fermi Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in NE300. Enrico Fermi was a pioneer in nuclear engineering and achieved the first sustained nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago in 1942 using a pile of natural uranium and graphite known as “Fermi’s Pile.”

NE350 (Radiological Engineering Design) – The Szilard Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in NE350. Leo Szilard was the father of the sustaining chain reaction and the first nuclear reactor patent. Dr. Szilard was partly responsible for creation of the Manhattan Project.

NE355 (Nuclear Reactor Engineering) – The Lawrence Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in NE355. Earnest O. Lawrence is the American Nobel laureate who invented the first linear particle accelerator and cyclotron. Dr. Lawrence was the first recipient of the Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1958.

NE361 (Computational Design in Nuclear Engineering) – The Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade achieved in NE361. Leclerc was a mid-1700’s French mathematician and naturalist credited with creating and using the Monte Carlo method to approximate π by dropping a needle on a ceramic tile with two parallel lines.

NE474 (Radiological Safety) – The Curie Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in NE474. Madame Marie Curie was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity and the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes. She directed the first studies in the treatment of neoplasms (cancers) using radioactive isotopes.

NE400 (Nuclear Engineering Seminar) – The Bohr Award is presented to the cadet who submits the best ethics paper in NE400. Niels Bohr is the Nobel laureate who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure with his model of the atom. Bohr was instrumental in raising ethical issues about the worldwide use of nuclear technologies.

NE450 (Nuclear Weapons and Weapons Effects) – The Teller Award is presented to the cadet who earned the highest grade in NE450. Edward Teller is the father of the hydrogen bomb. Dr. Teller was the recipient of the Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1986.

NE452 (Instrumentation and Shielding) – The Compton Award is presented to the cadet who with the highest grade in NE452. Arthur H. Compton is the American Nobel laureate in physics who discovered the Compton Effect, a fundamental interaction used in the detection of radioactive materials.

NE461 (Advanced Computational Design in Nuclear Engineering) – The John von Neumann Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in NE461. Professor John von Neuman worked in The Institute for Advanced Study School of Mathematics at Princeton University. In 1947, his letters on Statistical Methods in Neutron Diffusion to researchers at Los Alamos are the earliest known theories of Monte Carlo statistics applied to neutron transport.

NE495/496 (Advanced Nuclear System Design Project) – The Oppenheimer Award is presented to the cadets who have the best year-long design project. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer was the technical leader of the Manhattan Project which designed and tested the first nuclear weapon.

Research Program Award

The Thomas Young Award is presented to the cadet with the best poster presentation on Projects Day for their outstanding PH489, NE489 or SP489 project. The awardee is selected by a panel consisting of the Advanced Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Space Science, and Research program directors. Thomas Young is the originator of the double-slit interference experiment.