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2023 Essay Contest 

The Forum on the History and Philosophy of Physics (FHPP) of the American Physical Society is proud to announce the outcome of our 2023 History of Physics Essay Contest. We received thirty entries from seven countries: the United States, Australia, Germany, India, Oman, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The entries were evaluated by our FHPP Executive Committee. The essays were judged on originality, clarity, and potential to contribute to the field.

The 2023 Winner Is:

Rebecka Mähring -- for the outstanding essay, "Hilde Levi: A Jewish Woman's Life in Physics in the 20th Century." This inspiring account of Dr. Hilde Levi's life describes her pioneering interdisciplinary labors in biophysics and on the applications of radioisotopes. Levi collaborated with various other physicists, scientists, and medical professionals. Her unpretentious kindness enabled her to fulfill, renegotiate, and transcend traditional gender roles.

An abridged version will be published as the Back Page of APS News. Rebecka Mähring receives a cash award of $1,000.00, plus support (up to a $2,000.00 value) for travel, registration, hotel lodging and meals, to be an Invited Speaker at the APS April 2024 Meeting in Sacramento, California, to present a talk based on the essay.


We also award three Runners-Up, in a three-way tie, with cash awards of $500 each. In alphabetical order, they are: Stefano Farinella, “Galileo’s Use of Mathematics in its Historical Context”; Preetha Sarkar, “Meghnad Saha: A Win for Science”; and Jessica Schonhut-Stasik, “The Transit of Venus, King Kalākaua, and Indigenous Knowing.” Below, we include information about each award recipient, links to their commendable essays, and past winners.


The FHPP Essay Contest promotes interest in the history of physics. The contest is intended for undergraduate and graduate students but is open to anyone without a Ph.D. in physics or history. Entries can address the work of physicists, physics discoveries, or other related topics. At 2,500 words, entries should be scholarly and accessible to scientists and historians. Previously published work, excerpts, or entries with multiple authors are not accepted.


On behalf of FHPP, I congratulate the four Award Winners, and I warmly thank all other participants too for submitting essays. In a few weeks, we will announce our 2024 Essay Contest, on this webpage.
Alberto Martinez, Chair of APS FHPP

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Current Recipients

2023 Winner

Rebecka Mähring
Princeton University

Essay: "Hilde Levi: A Jewish Woman's Life in Physics in the 20th Century"
Rebecka Mähring graduated in May 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in Physics from Princeton University. Her senior thesis research was on dark matter phenomenology. While at Princeton, she also developed a strong interest in the history of science, which led to a research visit at the Niels Bohr Archive in Copenhagen, Denmark, during the summer. The APS essay is the result of this research.

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Winning Essay

2023 Runner-ups

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Stefano Farinella
University of Hamburg

Essay: “Galileo’s Use of Mathematics in its Historical Context”
Stefano Farinella is a first-year Ph.D. student at the University of Hamburg. He completed his B.S. in Physics at the University of Padua, and his M.S. in Theoretical Physics at the University of Amsterdam. He is now part of the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures in Hamburg, and his research focuses on the interplay between processes of transformation of knowledge and early modern manuscript culture in the notes of mathematician and natural philosopher Thomas Harriot (1560-1621).



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Preetha Sarkar
University of Illinois

Essay: “Meghnad Saha: A Win for Science”
Preetha Sarkar is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics and the Illinois Materials Research Science and Engineering Center at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on understanding how the electronic properties of two-dimensional van der Waals materials, such as graphene, are modified under mechanical strain by conducting low temperature electron transport experiments. She is passionate about science outreach and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in STEM. In her free time, she enjoys painting, writing poetry, singing, swimming, reading history and fiction, and volunteering for social causes.

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Jessica Schonhut-Stasik
Vanderbilt University

Essay: “The Transit of Venus, King Kalākaua, and Indigenous Knowing.”
Jessica Schonhut-Stasik is a Ph.D. candidate in astronomy at Vanderbilt University, specializing in Galactic Archaeology. After being diagnosed with autism, ADHD, and OCD at age 27, Jessica became a neurodivergent self-advocate and is the Program and Communications Manager at the Frist Center for Autism and Innovation, housed in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering. She works remotely from her home on Hawai'i Island, where she lives with her husband, dogs, and cats. Jessica has become deeply rooted in the community since emigrating from the U.K. in 2015 to live and work in the Hawai'i astronomy community. She participates in outreach and education initiatives such as the Maunakea Scholars program. She hosts the AstronomerAND podcast, which interviews non-traditional astronomers to elevate the voices of marginalized communities.

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Past Recipients

2022

2022 Winner

Briley_Lewis_headshot.jpgMiguel Ohnesorge
University of Cambridge, UK

Miguel Ohnesorge is a PhD Student at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Fellow at Boston University’s Philosophy of Geoscience Lab. In his PhD project, he reconstructs how physical geodesists measure(d) planetary figures and explores the insights that this problem holds for the epistemology of scientific measurement. His other work focuses on the global history of physics and the ethics and epistemology of industry-funded science. You can learn more about his research on his website https://www.mohnesorgehps.com.


Winning Essay

2022 Runner-up

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Shraddha Agrawal
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

I am a fifth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My research is in atomic physics, specifically using ultracold atomic gases to explore novel topological phenomena. Outside of research, I enjoy reading fiction, writing physics-related essays and stories, doing crosswords, and making good food.

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2021

2021 Winner

Briley_Lewis_headshot.jpgBriley Lewis
University of California, Los Angeles

Briley Lewis is a fourth-year graduate student and NSF Fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles studying Astronomy & Astrophysics. Her research focuses on how we can apply techniques from direct imaging of exoplanets to other planetary science questions. She is a member of the Astrobites collaboration, contributing author for Massive Science, and former organizer for ComSciCon-Los Angeles. She also teaches writing at UCLA in her course for first year undergraduates, “Astrobiology in Science Journalism.” Follow her on Twitter @briles_34 or visit her website www.briley-lewis.com.

Winning Essay

2021 Runner-up

Advait_Iyer_Headshot.jpegAdvait Iyer
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Advait Iyer is an undergraduate freshman studying engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. His interests include physics, soccer statistics, whistling and writing.

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2020

Winner

Garrett.jpgGarrett Williams
University of Illinois

I am a second-year PhD student in Department of Physics and the Illinois Quantum Information Science and Technology (IQUIST) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I completed my B.S. dual-degree in Physics and Chemistry at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. My research is in ultracold atomic physics with the goal of investigating novel states of quantum matter for experimental approaches to quantum computing. I enjoy playing the piano and all kinds of formal writing from research-driven works to musical compositions.

Winning Essay


Runners-up

Pell.jpgHannah Pell

Hannah Pell currently works in science publishing and as a freelance science writer. She is a former Research Assistant for the Center for History of Physics at the American Institute of Physics and an alumna of the Fulbright Program. She earned her B.S. in Physics and B.A. in Music from Lebanon Valley College and her M.A. in Music Theory from the University of Oregon. Her current research interests include science policy and communication with regards to nuclear power, large-scale high energy physics collaborations, and intersections between science and labor history. She has also been appointed to the Citizens Advisory Panel for the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant decommissioning process.

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John Vastola
Vanderbilt University

John Vastola is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Vanderbilt University. He currently uses theoretical tools from physics to better understand how individual cells regulate how many proteins and RNA of various kinds they have. More broadly, he is interested in asking and trying to answer questions about nature; for example, how do collections of apparently inanimate atoms conspire to form our friends and family?

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2019

Winner

Zhixin Wang
Yale University

Zhixin Wang is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Applied Physics and the Yale Quantum Institute at Yale University. He completed his B.S. in electrical engineering at Tsinghua University in Beijing, and his M.S. and M.Phil. in applied physics at Yale University. His research focuses on the experimental and theoretical study of superconducting quantum circuits, microwave quantum optics, and hybrid quantum systems.

Winning Essay

Runner-up

Melia Bonomo
Rice University

Melia Bonomo is a Ph.D. candidate in applied physics at Rice University in Houston, TX. She completed her B.S. in physics with a minor in Italian at Dickinson College in Carlisle, PA and her M.S. in applied physics at Rice. Prior to graduate school, Melia spent several years teaching high school in Italy. Her current research interest is in theoretical biophysics, with a focus on applications to studying the human brain. She also enjoys investigating the history of physics and obscure scientists, particularly those with underrepresented genders.

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2018

Winner

Flavio del Santo
University of Vienna

Flavio Del Santo is a Ph.D. student in physics at the University of Vienna and Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information. He completed his Bachelor in Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Florence (Italy) and his Masters in Theoretical Physics at the University of Vienna. His main research interests are the foundations of quantum mechanics, with a focus on the quantum measurement problem. He is also engaged in research activities in the history and philosophy of science.

Winning Essay

Runner-up

Grigoris Panoutsopoulos
University of Athens

Grigoris Panoutsopoulos is a Ph.D. student at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in the Department of Philosophy and History of Science. He holds a B.Sc. in Physics and a M.A. in History and Philosophy of Science and Technology. His research has focused on the history of CERN, Modern Physics, Big Science, the relationship between theory and experiment and the contemporary crises in the field of High Energy Physics. He has made presentations in international conferences and he has published articles in international journals and edited collections. He is the co-author, of the book Borders, Bodies and Narratives of Crisis in Europe, (Palgrave Macmillan 2018).

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2017

Winner

ryan-chaban.jpgRyan Chaban

Ryan is a first-year Ph.D. student at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA. His interest in fusion began through a 2016 Summer Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) at General Atomics in San Diego, CA. During that summer he researched energetic particles on the DIII-D Tokamak and this experience guided him towards a research career in fusion energy and intrigued him to learn more about the history of the science.

Winning Essay

Runner-up

shaun-datta.jpgShaun Datta

Shaun Datta is a senior studying Physics, Mathematics, and Computer Science at MIT.

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Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.