Awards and Scholarships : Department of Astronomy : UMass Amherst

Recent Awards

2024 Mary Dailey Irvine Outstanding Thesis Award

Zach Webb (UMass)

2023 UMass Amherst Rising Researcher Award

Timothy McQuaid

2023 Outstanding Astronomy Senior Award

Samuel Millstone

2023 Astronomy Award for Academic Excellence

Daniel Krista-Kelsey and Liam Yanulis

2023 David van Blerkom Research Scholarship

Giselle Hoermann and Andrew Wright

2023 Mary Dailey Irvine Thesis Award

Cailin Plunkett (Amherst College)

The Department of Astronomy and the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) offer a variety of scholarships and awards to recognize the hard work and academic success of our students, assist students with the expense of their education, and support student research and internships. The majority of these scholarships and awards are funded through the generosity of alumni and other members of the CNS community. We encourage all current astronomy students to apply.

How to Apply

The university has implemented AcademicWorks, an online application system for scholarships offered at UMass Amherst. Simply enroll in AcademicWorks and fill out both the UMass general application and the CNS application. The system will automatically submit your application to the scholarships and awards for which you are fully eligible and will inform you of other scholarships for which you would need to supply additional materials to apply.

Past Awards

David J. Van Blerkom Research Scholarship in Astronomy

An endowment fund established by Janet Van Blerkom. The purpose of the fund is to endow undergraduate research scholarships in the Department of Astronomy in memory of her husband, David J. Van Blerkom, professor of astronomy at the University of Massachusetts. Professor Van Blerkom came to UMass as a postdoctoral fellow in 1969, joined the faculty in 1970, served as chair of the astronomy program from 1980–1999, and then continued on the faculty until 2001. This scholarship fund is awarded based on academic excellence to a University of Massachusetts undergraduate and supports a research internship for that undergraduate.

Award Winners

2022 Daniel Krista-Kelsey and Samuel Millstone
2021 Caleigh Ryan and Shamus Flynn
2020 Lillian Wright and Anthony Englert
2017 Tara Dowd
2016 Jonah Chaban and Kendall Sullivan
2015 Bela Nelson and Ryan Boyden
2014 Timothy Costa and Aaron Dunbrack
2013 Sean McElwee and Kevin Harrington
2012 Kelsie Krafton and Marie D. Calapa
2011 Jamie Budynkiewicz and Kelly Malone
2010 Jack McCoy and Joe Lyons
2009 Mary MacDonald and Aaron Meyer
2008 Daniel Moriarty and Shaina Rogstad
2007 Jared Rand
2006 Kimberly McKee
2005 Patrick Dragon
2004 Teresa Liberatore
2003 Christopher Duston

Outstanding Astronomy Senior Award

The Outstanding Astronomy Senior Award is awarded to a graduating undergraduate student who has demonstrated outstanding performance across the multiple dimensions of academics, research, and community engagement. The Department of Astronomy awards one such recognition each year.

Award Winners

2022 Meredith Stone

Astronomy Award for Academic Excellence

The Astronomy Award for Academic Excellence is awarded to a graduating undergraduate student who has achieved outstanding academic performance through an excellent GPA. The Department of Astronomy awards up to two such recognitions each year.

Award Winners

2022 Emily Martsen and Caleigh Ryan

Mary Dailey Irvine Prize

This prize is established through a gift from the Irvine Family to the Five College Astronomy Department in memory of Mary Dailey Irvine (Smith College 1922). This prize exists to encourage and honor excellent undergraduate research in astronomy and astrophysics. The prize is awarded to a graduating senior from one of the Five College institutions for an outstanding senior thesis or research paper presented to the department on an astronomical or astrophysical topic.

Award Winners

2024 Zach Webb, University of Massachusetts,“New Insight into the Radial Distribution of Globular Clusters in Abell 2744 Using JWST”
2023 Cailin Plunkett, Amherst College, “Population properties of protoplanets: quantifying completeness in the presence of accretion”
2022 Meredith Stone, University of Massachusetts,“The Coevolution of Star Formationand Supermassive Black HoleAccretion in Local Dusty Galaxies”
2020 Olivia Cooper, Smith College,"Tales from our Dusty, Warped Past: Lensing Environments of Planck-selected Submillimeter Galaxies Observed with Gemini"
201 9Olena Komarova,Smith College, "V410 X-Ray 6: A Multi-Wavelength Study of Transition Disk Properties at the Substellar Boundary"
2018 Alex Watson,Amherst College, "Examining Astrometry and Photometry of the Close Companion HD 142527 B Through Direct Imaging".
2017 Laura Breitenfeld, Mt. Holyoke College, "Predicting Olivine Composition Using Raman Spectroscopy through Band Shift and Multivariate Analyses"
2016 Kevin Harrington, University of Massachusetts, "
2015 Wanda Feng, Smith College, "Revisiting Forbidden Lines in T Tauri Stars"
2014 Jenny Podel, Smith College, "Studying Accretion and Winds in Young Stars with Spectroscopy"
2013 Srishti Kashyap, Mount Holyoke, "Isolating & Characterizing An Fe(III) Transforming Deep Sea Thermophilic Archaeon "
2012 Erica Ruth Jawin, Mount Holyoke, "The Relationship between Radar Scattering and Lunar Surface Roughness "
2011 Kathryn McKinnon, Amherst College, "Decaying Dark Matter as a Possible Resolution to the Cusp Problem in Large-Scale Structure"
2010 Lindsey Barbieri, Hampshire College, "Deciphering Late-Amazonian Climate Change on Mars using Evidence Preserved in Gully Fan Stratigraphy".
2009 Jonathan Tucker, Amherst College, "Calibrating Chemcam: Preparing to Probe the Red Planet"
2008 Coleman Mason Krawczyk, University of Massachusetts, "Properties of Ambient Molecular Cloud Emission on the Regions of Methanol Masers"
2007 Catherine C. Walker, Mount Holyoke College, "Variation of Solar Wind Parameters over a Solar Cycle: Expectations for NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) Mission"
2006 Tiffany Picard, Mount Holyoke College, "Rotational Properties and Radii of the Stars in NGC2264: Extending the Timeline of Angular Momentum Evolution"
2005 Selby Cull, Hampshire College, "A Dynamic Digital Map of Mars"
2005 Katherine Whitaker, University of Massachusetts, "An XMM-Newton Study of IC 10 and the Variable X-Ray Source X-1"
2004 Sam Singer, Hampshire College, "Creation of the H.A.R.P. Observatory and Time-Series Differential Photometry of Ursae Majoris"
2003 Adria Updike, Smith College, "How Twisted is the Sun: Calculation of Magnetic Helicity in a Force-Free Field"
2002 Julie Nantais, University of Massachusetts, "Radio-FIR Correlation for Galactic HII Regions"
2002 Jay Dickson, Hampshire College, "Water on Mars: A Synthesis of the Hydrologic Features on the Surface of Mars"
2002 Kathryn M. Peek, Mount Holyoke College, "The Disruption of an Icy Satellite and the Evolution of the Resulting Debris Ring: A Formation Scenario for Saturn's Rings"
2000 Jessica Bonjorni, Smith College, "Classification of the Enigmatic Variable XX Sct"

Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship

To apply, visit: https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org/

Authorized by Congress in 1986, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation honors Barry M. Goldwater, who served the United States for 56 years as a soldier and legislator. This is a merit-based $7,500 scholarship for sophomore and junior college students for use toward college tuition and expenses to pursue an academic career in the sciences or engineering. Students must be nominated by his or her college or university. Approximately 275 scholarships are awarded each year for the entire country.

Award Winners

2022 Cailin Plunkett (Amherst College)
2021 Meredith Stone (UMass Amherst),Helena (Lena) Treiber (Amherst College)
2020 Jea Adams (Amherst College)
2019 Zoe Kearney (UMass Amherst), Kenneth Lin (UMass Amherst), Ryan McMillan (Amherst College), Olivia Cooper (Smith College)
2015 Aaron Dunbrack
2013 Marie Calapa

William F. Field Alumni Scholars

The William F. Field Alumni Scholars Program was established in 1976 by the UMass Alumni Association to recognize and honor third-year students for their academic achievements at UMass Amherst. The program was named in honor of William F. Field, the university’s first dean of students, for his outstanding support of academic excellence and his personal commitment to bringing out the best in every student. Nominations submitted by UMass Amherst deans.

Award Winners

2019 Kenneth Lin
2015 Randall Rojas Bolivar
2014 Kevin Harrington
2013 Sean McElwee
2012 Jamie Budynkiewicz & Mark Lodato
2010 Ashley Bemis & Max Curran

UMass Amherst Rising Researcher Award

To apply, visit: https://www.umass.edu/researchnext/nominate-rising-researcher

The UMass Amherst Rising Researcher student achievement award, sponsored by the vice chancellors for University Relations and Research Engagement, recognizes exceptional UMass Amherst undergraduate students who excel in research, scholarship, or creative activity.

Award Winners

2021 Kate Mallory
2014 Marie Calapa

The Lorna Peterson Prize

To apply, visit: https://www.fivecolleges.edu/lorna-peterson-prize

The Lorna M. Peterson Prize supports scholarly and creative work by undergraduate students taking part in a Five College program. The $500 prize is awarded annually based on nominations from Five College programs to a student who has demonstrated commitment to collaboration in their academic career.

Award Winners

2022 Sierra Gomez
2020 Jea Adams