Physics grads garner national recognition

or the second year in a row, a Ph.D. student from the University has won the Universities Research Administration's (URA) honor for the best doctoral thesis work done at Fermilab in Batavia, Ill., a particle physics laboratory housing the world's highest-energy particle accelerator. The award is given nationally to one student each year.

"We are very honored that Rochester students have been awarded this national prize two years in a row," says Arie Bodek, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. "Graduate students from the 90 URA member universities nationwide submit about 55 doctoral theses on research work done at Fermilab each year, so the competition is very tough."

This year's winner, Un Ki Yang '01 (PhD), worked with Bodek on the winning thesis that focused on the inner structure of protons and neutrons and measurement of quarks.

Last year, the same prize from Fermilab was won by Michael Fitch '00 (PhD), who worked with Adrian Melissinos, professor of physics and astronomy. Fitch developed a new technique for positioning the beam of particles for future linear particle accelerators.

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