Hyer Past Recipients

Past Recipients

2024

Genevieve Alpar
University of Dallas

2023

Amaris Mccarver
Texas Tech University

2022

Alyson Laskowski
Trinity University

Aman Patel
Baylor University

2021

Agam Shayit
Texas A&M University

2020

Undergraduate Level
Student: Noah Pearson
Southern Methodist University
Mentor: Joel Meyers
Southern Methodist University
“for their work on development of instrumentation and measurement techniques for improved data acquisition useful in a variety of experiments including single molecule devices, single photon counting and Raman spectroscopy.”


Graduate Level
Student: Qingyu Zhu
University of Texas, Arlington

Mentor: Yue Deng
University of Texas, Arlington

2019

Undergraduate Level
Student: Nolan King
University of Texas, Dallas
Mentor: Jason Slinker, Ph.D.
University of Texas, Dallas
“for their work on development of instrumentation and measurement techniques for improved data acquisition useful in a variety of experiments including single molecule devices, single photon counting and Raman spectroscopy.”


Graduate Level
Student: Andrei G. Gasic
University of Houston
Mentor: Margaret S. Cheung, Ph.D.
University of Houston

2018

Undergraduate Level 
Student: Sophia Andaloro
University of Dallas
Advisor: Surendra Singh
University of Arkansas
“for their work on Fraunhofer Diffraction of Laguerre-Gaussian Vortex Beams”

Graduate Level
Student: Luis de Jesus
Texas A&M University
Advisor: Sarbajit Banerjee
University of Texas A&M University
“for their work on the origins of diffusion barriers in intercalation hosts and for the development of X-ray microscopy as a probe of electronic structure inhomogeneities.”

2017

Graduate Level
Student: Eric Godat
Southern Methodist University
Advisor: Dr. Fred Olness
“For their work on parton distribution functions used to describe the internal structure of the proton which is crucial in helping separate known physics from that expected in searches for new physics phenomena at the Large Hadron Collider.”

Undergraduate Level
Student: Catherine Arndt
Baylor University
Advisor: Dr. Howard Lee
“For their work on zero-index materials for ultra-thin optical devices which is significantly important for imaging, photo/thermo-voltaic, hot-electron excitation and optical sensing applications.”

2016

Content Unavailable

2015

Graduate Level
Student: Chunlei Qu
University of Texas at Dallas
Advisor: Dr. Chuanwei Zhang
“For their theoretical investigation of ultra-cold Bose and Fermi atomic gases with synthetic spin-orbit coupling, which explained and stimulated much experimental work in this rapidly developing field.”

Undergraduate Level
Student: Sean Czarnecki
Angelo State University
Advisor: Dr. Scott Williams
“For their measurements of the Z-dependence of bremsstrahlung produced by low-energy electrons incident on thick targets, which were then compared with models used for medical dosimetry to determine whether they accurately simulate bremsstrahlung emission.”

2014

Graduate Level
Student: Marc McWilliams
University of Texas at Dallas
Advisor: Dr. Jason Slinker
“For their work in uncovering the fundamentals of charge transport reactions to create sensors of oxidative DNA damage and anticancer drug activity.”


Undergraduate Level
Student: Mayisha Nakib
Southern Methodist University
Advisor: Dr. Jodi Cooley
“For their work characterizing radon plate-out on various materials in various environmental conditions.”


Publications
April 2013 - AIP, Low Radioactivity Techniques 2013 Proceedings of the IV International Workshop in Low Radioactivity Techniques Volume 1549, Screening Materials with the XIA UltraLo Alpha Particle Counter at Southern Methodist University pg. 78 coauthored by J. Cooley (SMU) , V. E. Guiseppe (U. South Dakota) , B. Karabuga (SMU), H. Qiu (SMU), K. Rialage (LANL), R. Schnee (Syracuse), and S. Scorza (SMU)


Posters and Talks
April 2013 - Low Radioactivity Techniques Workshop, Laboratori Nazionali Del Gran Sasso, Italy: Physics conference poster titled Screening Materials with the XIA UltraLo Alpha Particle Counter at Southern Methodist University also coauthored by J. Cooley (SMU) , V. E. Guiseppe (U. South Dakota) , B. Karabuga (SMU), H. Qiu (SMU), K. Rialage (LANL), R. Schnee (Syracuse), and S. Scorza (SMU)


Feb 2013 - Southern Methodist University Dean’s Research Fair, Dallas, Texas: Poster titled ”Screening Materials with the XIA UltraLo Alpha Particle Counter at Southern Methodist Univer- sity” coauthored by J. Cooley (SMU),V. E. Guiseppe (U. South Dakota), B. Karabuga (SMU), H. Qiu (SMU), K. Rielage (LANL), R. Schnee (Syracuse), S. Scorza (SMU)


July 2012 - NASA Climate Adaptation Science Investigator Work Group, Goddard Space Flight Center: Talk on Stennis Space Center CASI project with partner Logan Schultz


April 2012 - Southern Methodist University Hamilton Scholars Reception, Dallas, Texas: Talk titled ”Material Characterization for the Super Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Experiment”


Feb 2012 - Southern Methodist University Graduate Research Fair, Dallas, Texas: Poster titled ”Identification of the Surface Event Background in the CDMS II Experiment” with B. Karabuga (SMU) and J. Cooley (SMU)

2013

Graduate Level

Michael A. TroxelThe 2013 Robert S. Hyer Research Award of the TSAPS will be awarded to Michael Troxel and Prof. Mustapha Ishak from the University of Texas at Dallas for their work on Cosmic Shear.

Michael’s Ph.D. thesis research concerns theoretical studies of gravitational lensing by the large-scale structure of our universe. The large-scale structure is like a massive cosmic web; mass along the line of sight to distant galaxies distorts space-time around it, as predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. This results in the deflection of light rays from distant galaxies and leads to tiny distortions in the observed shapes of these galaxies. This cosmic shear signal is manifest in statistically correlated shapes of galaxies that are close on the sky (since their light travels past similar parts of the cosmic web) with the correlation falling off for galaxies that are more widely separated. The great importance of cosmic shear is that it allows access to information on dark matter and dark energy in the universe; the cosmic web itself is primarily dark matter. In addition, the amount and properties of dark energy are imprinted on the growth of the cosmic web from the tiny mass fluctuations present at earlier times. Michael’s thesis research addresses a very critical aspect of harnessing cosmic shear as a cosmological tool. The Dark Energy Task Force of Albrecht et al. identified cosmic shear as the most promising way to study dark energy, which is thought to dominate the mass-energy density of the universe. One of the most important systematics arises from the intrinsic alignments of galaxies: galaxies formed near each other in a similar tidal gravitational field tend to have similar shapes. This intrinsic alignment signal and the cross-term with cosmic shear must be dealt with, since it contaminates the measurement of cosmological parameters.

Prof. Mustapha IshakProf. Ishak-Boushaki is, well known in the cosmology community, prolific in his publications, especially jointly with his students. He is a very successful and conscientious mentor who, in some magical way, he carves out large chunks of time to spend with his students, in spite of the many other demands on his time.

Publications:

[1] Large-Scale Growth Evolution in the Szekeres Inhomogeneous CosmologicalModels with Comparison to Growth Data

Peel A., Ishak M. & Troxel M.A. Physical Review D, 86, 123508, December 2012.

doi:10.1103/PhysRevD.86.123508

[2] Self-calibrating the gravitational shear-intrinsic ellipticity-intrinsic ellipticity (GII) crosscorrelation

Troxel M.A. & Ishak M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 427, 441, November 2012.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.21912.

[3] xSelf-Calibration for 3-point Intrinsic Alignment Auto-Correlations in Weak Lensing Surveys

Troxel M.A. & Ishak M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 423, 1663, May 2012.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20987.x

[4] Self-Calibration Technique for 3-point Intrinsic Alignment Correlations inWeak Lensing Surveys

Troxel M.A. & Ishak M. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 419, 1804, January 2012.

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2011.20205.x

[5] Comparative Direct Analysis of Type Ia Supernova Spectra. IV. Postmaximum Branch D., Jeffery D.J., Parrent J., Baron E., Troxel M.A., Stanishev V., Keithley M., Harrison J. & Bruner C. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 120, 135, August 2008. doi:10.1086/527572

[6] Comparative Direct Analysis of Type Ia Supernova Spectra. III. Premaximum Branch D., Troxel M.A., Jeffery D.J., Hatano K., Musco M., Parrent J., Baron E., Dang L.C., Casebeer D., Hall N. & Ketchum W. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 119, 709, July 2007. doi:10.1086/520553

[7] Direct Analysis of Spectra of the Unusual Type Ib Supernova 2005bf Parrent J., Branch D., Troxel M.A., Casebeer D., Jeffery D.J., Ketchum W., Baron E., Serduke F.J.D. & Filippenko A.V. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 119, 135, February 2007. doi:10.1086/512494

[8] Comparative Direct Analysis of Type Ia Supernova Spectra. II. Maximum Light Branch D., Dang L.C., Hall N., Ketchum W., Melakayil M., Parrent J., Troxel M.A., Casebeer D., Jeffery D.J. & Baron E. Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, 119, 135, April 2006. doi:10.1086/502778

[9] Probing the Nature of Type I Supernovae with SYNOW Branch D., Parrent J., Troxel M.A., Casebeer D., Jeffery D.J., Baron E., Ketchum W. & Hall N. AIP Conference Proceedings, 924, 342, August 2007. doi:10.1063/1.2774879

Presentations:

[10] Cosmology in the Era of Big Surveys, Invited Colloquium Talk, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, March 2013

[11] Intrinsic Alignment of Galaxies and 3-point Self Calibration, 221st AAS Meeting, Long Beach, CA, January 2013

[12] Intrinsic Alignment of Galaxies and Self-Calibration, Texas Section APS Meeting, Texas Tech University - Lubbock, TX, October 2012

[13] Self-Calibration Technique for 3-point Intrinsic Alignment Correlations in Weak Lensing Surveys, 219th AAS Meeting, Austin, TX, January 2012

[14] Intrinsic Alignment and GGI Self-Calibration, Texas Section APS Meeting, Texas A&M University - Commerce, Commerce, TX, October 2011

Undergraduate Level

Nalin RanayekeThe 2013 Hyer Award for undergraduate research was awarded to Nalin Ranayeke and Prof. Vernita Gordon, both from the University of Texas at Austin. Nalin is a double major working on a Physics and Biology degree at the Center of Nonlinear Dynamics at UT-Austin. He has been working with Dr. Gordon since September 2011. His project is about the cellular response to mechanical changes and how this behavior relates to cancer. In his research project Nalin works with human cell cultures and has learned to work with aseptic techniques, microscopy, and various imaging analysis techniques. His honors include eight scholarships and awards including the Dr. H. Franklyn Alexander Endowed Scholarship, and the Walter E. Millet Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship in Physics.

Vernita GordonProf. Dr. Gordon joined the University of Texas in 2010. She received a B.Sc. Degree in Physics and Mathematics from Vanderbilt University and a PhD. in Physics from Harvard. She has set up a flourishing Biophysics group at UT-Austin and is well published. For more information on her work see the references listed below [2, 3, 4].

Publications and presentations:

  1. Nalin Ranayeke, Vernita Gordon, Oral presentation TSAP Fall-2013 meeting, Brownsville, Texas.
  2. The extracellular polysaccharide Pel makes the attachment of P. aeruginosa to surfaces symmetric and short-ranged. B.J. Cooley, T.W. Thatcher, S.M. Hashmi, G. L’Her, H.H. Le, D.A. Hurwitz, D. Provenzano, A. Touhami, V. D. Gordon, 2013 Soft Matter 9:3871-3876.
  3. Flagella and pili-mediated near-surface single-cell motility mechanisms in P. aeruginosa. J.C. Conrad, M.L. Gibiansky, F. Jin, V. D. Gordon, D.A. Motto, M.A. Mathewson, W.G. Stopka, D. C. Zelasko, J.D. Shrout, G.C.L. Wong, 2011, Biophysical Journal 100: 1608-1616.
  4. Bacteria use type IV pili to walk upright and detach from surfaces. Gibiansky, M.L., Conrad, J.C., Jin F., Gordon, V.D., Motto, D.A. Mathewson, M.A., Stopka, W.G., Zelasko, D.C. Shrout, J. D., Wong, G.C.L., 2010 Science 330:197.
  5. http://chaos.utexas.edu/people/faculty/vernita-gordon

2012

Graduate Level

Yanshi HuangYanshi Huang and Dr. Yue Deng of UT-Arlington were awarded the 2012 graduate Robert S.Hyer Research Award. They investigated the variations of energy sources of Earth’s upper atmosphere and their influences on the coupled thermosphere-ionosphere system using various data and models. For example, the cause of the surprisingly large difference in thermospheric density between thesolar minima of 1996 and 2008 has been studied. Huang and Deng discovered that the reduction of geomagnetic energy deposited into the thermosphere was comparable to that of the solar EUV radiation between 1996 and 2008, and the lower level of geomagnetic energy deposition including Joule heating and auroral particle precipitation played an important role resulting inanomalously low density in 2008. Different models were utilized to estimate the EUV and geomagnetic energy inputs over 15 years. The simulations indicate that the solar irradiance and geomagnetic energy contributed 3/4 and 1/4 of theneutral density reduction in 2008, respectively. In addition, the wavelength dependence of soar irradiance enhancement in flares and its influence on the upper atmosphere have been studied. The energy transfer processes into the upper atmosphere associated with high-speedsolar wind stream and the altitudinal distribution of Joule heating have been investigated as well.

Dr. Yue DengYanshi joined UT-Arlington in 2009 as a graduate student after getting her Master’sdegree in Atmospheric and Space Science at University of Michigan. During her Ph.D. study at UT-Arlington, she was honored the Michael and Wanda Ray Fellowship in 2009, the Outstanding Physics Major award at UTA and the second place Ionosphere-Thermosphere student poster competition in the CEDAR conference in 2011.

Dr.Deng is a young assistant professor who joined UT-Arlington in 2009 after finishing Postdoctoral work at the NCAR and NOAA. Her research interest includes magnetosphere and ionosphere coupling and space weather modeling. She has been awarded the NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for 2010-2015 and her current research is also supported by Air Force and NASA. More information on Yanshi's and Dr. Deng's work can be found in the publications listed below.

References:

  1. Deng,Y., Y. Huang, S. C. Solomon, L. Qian, D. J. Knipp, D. R. Weimer, and J.-S. Wang(2012), Anomalously low geomagnetic energy inputs during 2008 solar minimum, J.Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2012JA018039.
  2. Huang,Y., A. D. Richmond, Y. Deng, and R. G. Roble (2012), Height distribution ofJoule heating and its influence on the thermosphere, J. Geophys. Res.,doi:10.1029/2012JA017885.
  3. Huang,Y., Y. Deng, J. Lei, A. Ridley, R. E.Lopez, R.C. Allen, and B.M. Butler (2012), Comparison of joule heatingassociated with high-speed solar wind between different models andobservations. Journal of Atmospheric andSolar-Terrestrial Physics, Volumes 75–76, Feb 2012, Pages 5-14, ISSN1364-6826,10.1016/j.jastp.2011.05.013.
  4. Deng, Y., Y. Huang, J. Lei, A. J. Ridley, R.Lopez, and J. Thayer (2011), Energy input into the upper atmosphere associated with high-speed solar wind streams in 2005, J. Geophys. Res., 116,A05303, doi:10.1029/2010JA016201.

Undergraduate Level

Landon BanisterThe 2012 Hyer Award for Undergraduate Research was presented at the annual fall meeting to Landon Banister and his advisor, Professor Stephen J. Sekula of Southern Methodist University. As a freshman and sophmore, Landon worked on a research project, searching for dark scalars with the BaBar Detector, with Professor Stephen Sekula. He presented his work at spring 2011-TSAPS meeting at Stephen F. Austin State University [1] as well as at the Babar Collaboration Physics Jamboree at the University of Cincinnati [2]. The BaBar collaboration consists of over 300 particle physicists from all over the world. The collaboration is primarily composed of personnel at the graduate student level or above. Landon's project addresses one of the most puzzling questions in physics today - what are the constituents of dark matter. Approximately 85% of the matter in the universe is in an invisible form of matter that has not yet been directly detected. Landon and Steve used the BaBar detector to look for the decay of a B meson into a pair of "Dark Scalars". This process is predicted in dark matter models which suggest that rather than one singular dark matter constituent, a flush and complex "dark sector" of particles exists which could interact with ordinary matter. [3]. Outside the lab, Landon is active as the vice president of the SMU Chapter Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society.

Professor Stephen SekulaDr. Sekula is an assistant professor at SMU. He is conducting cutting edge research in high energy physics working at the energy (Atlas experiment) and intensity frontier (BaBar experiment) [4]. He is also a very good educator and received the SMU golden Mustangs award for his consistently excellent teaching performance.

References:

  1. Landon B. Banister, “Search for dark matter using 4-Lepton decays of B mesons”, poster presentation 2011-TSAPS spring meeting, Stephen F. Austin State University, March 3-5 2011.
  2. Landon B. Banister, “The search for dark scalars in B à 4l(+X)”, oral presentation Babar collaboration physics jamboree at the University of Cincinnati, April 23-25, 2010.
  3. http://www-public.slac.stanford.edu/babar/
  4. B. Aubert, et al, Phys Rev. Lett. 103 152801 (2009).

2011

Graduate Level

Ming LeiMing Lei and advisor Dr. Michael Downer of UT Austin were awarded the 2011 graduate Robert S. Hyer Research Award. Ming developed a new technique to characterize nanometer-thick silicon-on-insulator (SOI) films, a platform for a multitude of current high-performance electronic and photonic devices. The 2009 International Technology Roadmap for semiconductors expressed the need for faster, non-destructive ways of detecting defects at the interface of the SOI thin film. Using internal photoemission and optical second-harmonic generation, Ming was able to develop a technique to determine the energy level structure of these interface defects. Ming also worked on the characterization of high-K dielectric materials. He developed an all-optical method for detecting specific classes of defects in hafnium-based high-k dielectrics on silicon by resonantly photo-ionizing them and detecting the free charge by optical second-harmonic generation. Dr. Downer is an experimental physicist who is internationally known for his clever use of ultrafast laser pulses at high intensities to understand diverse phenomena in atomic plasma and condensed matter physics. Additionally, he is a remarkable teacher, who has been recognized by the UT College of Natural Sciences Teaching Excellence Award, the President's Associates Teaching Excellence Award, the UT Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award, and for 2010-11, the Dad's Association Centennial Teaching Fellowship. More information on Ming's and Dr. Downer's work can be found in the publications listed below.

Dr. Michael DownerReferences:

  1. M. Lei, J. Price and M. C. Downer, "Hot carrier injection from nanometer-thick silicon-on-insulator films measured by optical second-harmonic generation," Appl. Phys. Lett. 96, 241105 (2010)
  2. J. Price, M. Lei, and M.C. Downer, "Charge-trapping defects in Si/SiO2/Hf1-xSixO2 film stacks characterized by spectroscopic second-harmonic generation," J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 29 (2011) 04D101 - 04D101-11.
  3. J.H. Yum, T. Akyol, M. Lei, T. Hudnall, G. Bersuker, M. Downer, C.W. Bielawski, J.C. Lee, S.K. Banerjee, "Atomic layer deposited beryllium oxide: Effective passivation layer for III-V metal/oxide/semiconductor devices," J. Applied Physics 109, 064104 (2011)
  4. Ming Lei, J. H. Yum, Jimmy M Price, Todd W. Hudnall, Christopher W. Bielawski, Sanjay K. Banerjee, Patrick S. Lysaght, Gennadi Bersuker, Michael C. Downer, Spectroscopic evaluation of band alignment of atomic layer deposited BeO on Si(100), Appl. Phys. Lett. (2012)
  5. Ming Lei, J. H. Yum, S. K. Banerjee, G. Bersuker, M. C. Downer, Band offsets of atomic layer deposited Al2O3 and HfO2 on Si measured by linear and nonlinear internal photoemission, physica status solidi (c), 2011

Undergraduate Level

Nelson CardenasNelson Cardenas and advisor Dr. Samarendra Mohanty of UT-Arlington received the 2011 undergraduate Robert S. Hyer Research Award. Nelson combined novel digital holographic techniques and optical tweezers to study the stretching of red blood cells. Red blood cells need to squeeze through capillaries half their size and elasticity of cells can change in people that have certain diseases. Recently, Nelson co-invented "Common-path quantitative phase imaging and manipulation of microscopic object" which is being disclosed to UTA for filing patent. This microscopy technique which is based on interferometry, allows for real time determination of the depth. Being the founder vice-president of the UTA SPIE chapter, Nelson has been active in outreach activities such as organizing several SPIE seminars and a COMSOL Multiphysics workshop, and demonstrating experiments at the UTA Sally Ride Science festival, and the DFW Metroplex events (2010). Dr. Mohanty is a young assistant professor who joined UT-Arlington in 2009 after finishing Postdoctoral work at the Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic. His research interest include Biophysics and Physiological studies from the molecular and cellular level to whole organisms. More about Nelson's and Dr. Mohanty's work can be found in the publications listed below.

Dr. Samarendra MohantyReferences:

  1. N. Cardenas, L. Yu, S. K. Mohanty, Digital holographic microscopy combined with optical tweezers, Proc. SPIE, 7902-27 (2011).
  2. N. Cardenas, N. D. Ingle, L. Yu, S. K. Mohanty, Development of a digital holographic microscopy system integrated with atomic force microscope, Proc. SPIE, 7904-8, (2011).
  3. N. Cardenas, L. Yu, S. K. Mohanty, Stretching of red blood cells by optical tweezers quantified by digital holographic microscopy, Proc. SPIE, 7897-54, (2011).
  4. N. Cardenas, L. Yu, S. K. Mohanty, Probing orientation and rotation of red blood cells in optical tweezers by digital holographic microscopy, Proc. SPIE, 7906A-23 (2011).
  5. N. Cardenas, Y.N. Mishra, S. K. Mohanty, Hybrid optical transport trap: loading and unloading of microscale objects using a microfabricated optical fiber into optical tweezers, Proc. SPIE, 7950-7 (2011).
  6. N. Cardenas, S. K. Mohanty, Common-path quantitative phase imaging and manipulation of microscopic objects, Disclosure to UTA.
  7. Y. N. Mishra, N. Cardenas, and S. K. Mohanty, "Optical Micromanipulation of red blood cells using a microfabricated optical fiber into optical tweezers," in Optical Trapping Applications, OSA Technical Digest (CD) (Optical Society of America, 2011), paper OTMD5p.
  8. Nelson Cardenas, Pattrick Thomas, Lingfeng Yu, Samarendra Mohanty, "Biomechanics and dynamics of red blood cells probed by optical tweezers and digital holographic microscopy", Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 56(1), BAPS.2011.MAR.V39.11 (2011).
  9. N. Cardenas, S. K. Mohanty, "Common-path spectral phase microscopy", Bulletin of the American Physical Society, 56(7), BAPS.2011.TSF.N2.2 (2011).
  10. N. Cardenas, Samarendra K. Mohanty, "Tunable near-infrared dispersive quantitative phase microscopy", Proc. SPIE, 8231 (2012).
  11. N. Cardenas, Samarendra K. Mohanty, "Investigation of shape memory of red blood cells using optical tweezers and quantitative phase microscopy", Proc. SPIE, 8231 (2012).

2010

Graduate Level

Antonios SamiotakisThe 2010 Robert S. Hyer Research award in the graduate category was awarded to Antonios Samiotakis and Prof. Dr. Margaret Cheung from the University of Houston. Antonios’ research has focused on the study of the dynamics of biological macromolecules under cell-like conditions by applying molecular simulation methods. A cell’s interior is a crowded and concentrated environment that impacts the behavior of macromolecules. It affects the rate of protein folding, protein association and the overall conformational changes that cannot be probed in dilute solutions. In order to tackle this problem effectively, Antonios and his advisor Dr. Cheung have combined molecular simulation methods with high performance computing resources that allows for the efficient simulation of large systems. In addition, they developed a multiscale simulation scheme that combines coarse-grained models with all-atomistic simulation techniques. This approach allows to significantly enhance the conformational sampling of a protein’s folding energy landscape. An energy function that accounts for chemical interference in coarse-grained models of proteins was also developed and tested on a small peptide, resulting in structures that agreed very well with experimental results.

Dr. Margaret CheungReferences:

  1. D. Homouz, M. Perham, A. Samiotakis, M.S. Cheung and P. Wittung-Stafshede, "Crowded, cell-like environment induces shape changes in aspherical protein" Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.,105, 11754-11759 (2008). This paper was highlighted in the following Journals: Chemical and Engineering News, Aug 18th 08, press, “Crowded Shapes”, Research Highlights in Nature (vol 454, p21, 2008), “Mob Rule” and Research Highlights of 2008 in Nature (vol. 456 p840, 2008).
  2. A. Samiotakis, P. Wittung-Stafshede and M.S. Cheung, “Folding, stability and shape of proteins in crowded environments: Experimental and computational approaches”, Int. J. Mol. Sci. 10, 572-588 (2009).
  3. L. Stagg, A. Samiotakis, D. Homouz, M.S. Cheung and P. Wittung-Stafshede, “Residue-Specific Analysis of Frustration in the Folding Landscape of Repeat β/α Protein Apoflavodoxin” ,J. Mol. Biol. 391, 75-89 (2010)
  4. A. Samiotakis, D. Homouz and M.S. Cheung, “Multiscale investigation of chemical interference in proteins”, J. Chem. Phys. 132, 175101 (2010)
  5. A. Christensen, Q. Wang, A. Samiotakis, M.S. Cheung and P. Wittung-Stafshede, “Factors defining effects of macromolecular crowding on protein stability: an in vitro/in silico case study using cytochrome c” , Biochemistry 49, 6519-6530 (2010)
  6. A. Dhar, A. Samiotakis, S. Ebbinghaus, L. Nienhaus, D. Homouz, M. Gruebele and M.S. Cheung, “Structure, function and folding of phosphoglycerate kinase are strongly perturbed by macromolecular crowding”, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 107, 17586-17591 (2010).

Undergraduate Level

Thomas MarkovichThe 2010 Robert S. Hyer Research award in the undergraduate category was awarded to the young physicist, Mr. Thomas Markovich and his advisor Prof. Dr. Donald Kouri of the University of Houston. They received the award for the Development of novel extensions and applications of Super-Symmetric Quantum Mechanics towards solving realistic multi-particle and multi-dimensional systems. Thomas is the vice president of the local SPS chapter at the University of Houston. His is working on a double major, and is a member of the honors College.

Dr. Donald KouriReferences:

  1. “The Heisenberg−Weyl Algebra on the Circle and a Related Quantum Mechanical Model for Hindered Rotation”, J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 7698-7705 (2009).
  2. Donald J. Kouri, Thomas Markovich, Nicholas Maxwell, Eric R. Bittner, “Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics, Excited State Energies and Wave Functions, and the Rayleigh-Ritz Variational Principle: A Proof of Principle Study”, J. Phys. Chem. A 113, 15257-15264 (2009).
  3. Eric Bittner, Donal Kouri, Kaushik Maji, Thomas Markovich, “A New Generalization of Supersymmetric Quantum Mechanics to Arbitrary Dimensionality or Numberof Distinguishable Particles”, J. Phys. Chem. A 114, 8202-8216 (2010).

    2009

    Graduate Level

    Xingbo ZhaoTwo physicists from Texas A&M University, Xingbo Zhao and Dr. Ralf Rapp, were awarded the graduate level 2009 Robert S. Hyer Research Award of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society (TSAPS).

    The annual award recognizes a physics student and his or her adviser for physics research that demonstrates excellence and relevance to the scientific community. Zhao was presented with the award during an October 23 banquet dinner ceremony as part of the Texas Physics 2009 conference, held October 22-24 at Texas State University in San Marcos. Zhao and Rapp each received a plaque, while Zhao also received a $500 prize.

    Dr. Ralf RappRapp, a member of the Texas A&M faculty since 2003, and Zhao, a student research assistant under Rapp's mentorship in the Texas A&M Department of Physics and Astronomy and Cyclotron Institute, were cited for their contributions to the theory of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) -- a dense, hot state of matter that existed in the first microseconds after the Big Bang -- with their studies of charmonium production in heavy-ion collisions involving QGP and the suppressive and regenerative effect of the J/ψ particle.

    The duo's prize-winning research was featured as one of the discussions in the annual Joint Fall Meeting of TSAPS as well as the Texas Sections of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Society of Physics Students-Zone 13, held in conjunction with Texas Physics 2009. It was one of several hundred presentations that were given over the course of the weekend by world renowned physicists from Texas and the world in a showcase of international excellence in physics.

    "We did deep levels of research involving the origins of our matter, and it answers many questions about our matter," Zhao said. "This is the type of research that attracted me to this field."

    Rapp explained that their work involved theoretical studies of collisions of heavy atomic nuclei where the collision energy is converted into thermal energy possibly producing a QGP, essentially creating "Little Bangs" and important clues to the origins of matter in their large-scale experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

    "The J/ψ particle consists of two heavy quarks, and the idea is that if QGP is formed, then J/ψ should dissolve in QGP," Rapp said. "Then you would observe less J/ψ, which is the J/ψ suppression signature. We later realized that in QGP, you can create or restore J/ψ, meaning you have a suppressive or regenerative effect. We were doing systematic investigation in terms of how you can understand both mechanisms. We tried to set up a thermal framework to interpret the data."

    While the research is limited in its practical applications, Rapp noted it is significant in its revelations of the Universe and the structure of matter.

    "I was very surprised to receive this honor," Zhao said. "It's a highly competitive award. Dr. Rapp has been a very good adviser to me."

    For more information on Zhao and Rapp's research, visit http://cyclotron.tamu.edu/rapp/.

    Undergraduate Level

    Jorge MuñozThe 2009 undergraduate level Robert S. Hyer Research Award of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society (TSAPS) went to Jorge Muñoz (student) and Jorge López (research advisor) from the University of Texas at El Paso. This award recognizes an undergraduate student and her/his advisor for physics research that demonstrates excellence and relevance to the scientific community.

    The "Jorges" received the award for a study of the novel nuclear phenomenon termed "isoscaling" that relates collisions of stable nuclei to similar collisions of radioactive nuclei. Muñoz, collaborating as a research assistant with López, found that the phenomenon is more general than in the nuclear case; this finding has direct implications to experiments being conducted at cyclotrons around the globe. Muñoz presented their results at the Fall 2008 meeting of the TSAPS in El Paso.

    Jorge LópezLópez received the award during the October 23 banquet ceremony at the Fall 2009 TSAPS conference, held October 22-24 at Texas State University in San Marcos. Muñoz, busy with his Ph.D. studies at Caltech, did not attend the ceremony but received a plaque and a $500 prize.

    2008

    Recent University of Texas at Austin doctoral graduate Robert Quimby, now at the California Institute of Technology, and his advisor, University of Texas at Austin astronomy professor J. Craig Wheeler, were selected as the second recipients of the Robert S. Hyer Award from the Texas Section of the American Physical Society. This award recognizes excellence in physics-related research and potential impact in the relevant scientific community by a student and her/his advisor at a Texas institution of higher education.

    The award was presented Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 during a lunch ceremony as part of the two-day Texas Physics 2008 conference held jointly with the Four Corners Section on the campus of the University of Texas at El Paso. Each scientist received a plaque, and Quimby also received a $500 prize.

    J. Craig WheelerWheeler is the long-time leader of supernova research in the Department of Astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin. He was instrumental in bringing the Michigan-led Robotic Transient Source Experiment (ROTSE) telescope to McDonald Observatory with the goal of helping to discover cosmic gamma-ray bursts and related transient events. The Hyer Award recognized Quimby’s work on his Texas Supernova Search that coupled discovery of new supernovae with ROTSE to follow-up spectroscopy with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory. Quimby discovered two of the most intrinsically bright supernovae ever detected, supernovae 2006gy and 2005ap, among others.

    Wheeler said “Quimby made a large mark in our Department of Astronomy for hard work, inventiveness, and productivity. He discovered a whole new category of supernovae, the implications of which may reach back to the end of the cosmological dark ages.”

    Quimby recognized that the wide field of view of the ROTSE telescopes allowed a deep survey of the entire Virgo cluster of galaxies in a few hours. No other automated search project can tackle this; the field of Virgo is just too large. Quimby’s idea promised the ability to discover new supernovae extremely early when their physics is unexplored and when early discovery enhances the chance of detailed follow-up at all epochs. Quimby started the Texas Supernova Search in the spring of 2004. After early success, he expanded this project by including the Coma and Ursa Major clusters and the nearby Andromeda galaxy.

    The capstone of Quimby’s work, and the specific rationale for the Hyer Award, came toward the end of his graduate career. While observing the nearby clusters of galaxies, Quimby’s ROTSE observations with their wide field of view also surveyed a vast volume of space beyond those clusters. In that volume, he discovered SN 2006gy that proved to be nearly 100 times brighter than any supernova previously observed. This event rose to maximum light in an unusually long 70 days. It was something completely different. Since then Quimby has identified four other “brightest supernovae ever,” including the current record holder SN 2005ap. SN 2006gy has many of the expected characteristics of so-called “pair instability supernovae” that are theoretically predicted to occur in very massive stars, with several hundred solar masses, which get hot enough to create electron/positron pairs. This softens the equation of state, and causes the oxygen core to contract, heat, and explode. These stars are theoretically expected to be among the first stars to form at the end of the cosmological dark ages, but Quimby may have found them in relatively nearby, contemporary galaxies, although alternative explanations involving collision of the supernova with circumstellar matter are being actively explored. This work got great press, including coverage in the New York Times, and it was number three on the list of Time Magazine’s Top Ten Scientific Discoveries for 2007.

    Wheeler said “it is a great honor and pleasure to receive this award from the Texas physics community that acknowledges work in astrophysics.”

    For more information on Quimby’s and Wheeler’s research, visit:

    2009

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    Texas A&M University physicists Dmitry S. Pestov and Dr. Alexei V. Sokolov were selected as the inaugural recipients of the Robert S. Hyer Research Award of the Texas Section of the American Physical Society (TSAPS).

    The award, presented Friday, Oct. 19, 2007 during a lunch ceremony as part of the two-day Texas Physics 2007 conference held on the Texas A&M campus, annually recognizes a student and his or her advisor for physics research that demonstrates both excellence and potential impact in the relevant scientific community. Each receives a plaque, while the student recipient also merits a $500 prize.

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    Sokolov, an associate professor of physics at Texas A&M since 2002, and Pestov, a research assistant under Sokolov's mentorship in the Texas A&M Institute of Quantum Studies (IQS) headed by Distinguished Professor of Physics Dr. Marlan O. Scully, were cited for their groundbreaking work as members of a joint Texas A&M IQS-Princeton University team that developed a new approach to detect biochemical molecules in real-time using lasers. Their technique relies on an adapted form of coherent Raman spectroscopy and has broad implications for a wide range of industries, ranging from homeland security to health care.

    "Your work, among a very competitive group of nominations, has set a wonderful standard of excellence for this award," said Dr. Dwight P. Russell, TSAPS chair and associate professor of physics at Baylor University, in an e-mail informing the pair of their honor.

    The group's award-winning research was featured as a technical talk in Friday's Joint Fall Meeting of the TSAPS as well as the Texas Sections of the American Association of Physics Teachers and the Society of Physics Students-Zone 13, held in conjunction with Texas Physics 2007. The talk was but one of several hundred presentations by researchers and educators across Texas and the world, including two Nobel laureates and scientists from top international institutions and research laboratories, in the weekend showcase of global excellence in physics.

    "While working on the problem of real-time detection of warfare bioagents, such as Bacillus anthracies [anthrax], we came up with an effective scheme or, rather, a combination of laser pulses that manages to suppress meaningless optical background and pull out the so-called coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) signal from spores, which can be used as their finger-print," Pestov explained. "Suppression of the background is the major challenge for practical applications of CARS. Our approach turned out to work well even for such 'unfriendly' samples as powders and spores."

    The team's research has appeared in a variety of prestigious publications since first being reported in Science last April, earning rave reviews from editorial boards as well as fellow scientists.

    "Their experimental demonstration of spore detection is a huge accomplishment," said Dr. Szymon Suckewer, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University and the winner of this year's APS Schawlow Prize. "Here at Princeton, we are very well familiar with this problem, and for a number of years, people kept repeating that spore detection by CARS simply 'can't be done.' Well, now it has been done!"

    Pestov pointed out that the technique, which the team refers to as hybrid CARS, can be readily used for many other applications. Chemically-selective imaging (microscopy), non-invasive monitoring of glucose in blood and natural gas spectroscopy are just a few the group currently is investigating.

    "This is an important contribution to our FAST CARS project, where the ideas of maximal molecular coherence have found an unexpected payoff in biological warfare detection as well as medical diagnostics and industrial application," Scully noted.

    Friday's award presentation was followed by a brief biographical lecture on the award's namesake, Robert S. Hyer, delivered by his grandson. Beyond being the leading founder of Southern Methodist University, Hyer was described as fully dedicated to physics teaching and research – to the extent that he beat Guglielmo Marconi, long considered the grandfather of wireless communication, to his Nobel Prize-winning discovery by a year, according to evidence detailed in a contemporary newspaper account. Hyer also interacted with Scott & White Hospital in the early days of X-ray technology.

    "Receiving an award named after such a distinguished person and scientist has been a truly humbling experience," Sokolov said. "An award given at this level is a huge honor for us. I like to think of it as recognition for Dr. Scully's Institute for Quantum Studies as a whole."

    Texas Physics 2007 was sponsored by the Texas A&M Department of Physics and the George P. and Cynthia Woods Mitchell Institute for Fundamental Physics and Astronomy in conjunction with the National Society for Black Physicists, the National Society for Hispanic Physicists, and the Forum on Industrial & Applied Physics.