Two assistant professors receive Cottrell Awards

Two UW–Madison professors have been selected as 2009 Cottrell Scholars by the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, a foundation dedicated to promoting university research and education.

Snezana Stanimirovic, an assistant professor of astronomy, and Robert McDermott, an assistant professor of physics, are among this year’s 10 winners of the highly competitive award. Each received a $100,000 grant.

The Cottrell Scholars Award recognizes young investigators in the physical sciences for the quality of their research and their dedication to teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level.

Stanimirovic studies the interstellar medium, the gases and other matter that fill the vast spaces between stars. She plans to use part of her award to assemble three small radio telescopes to create an astronomical observation laboratory at UW–Madison.

McDermott is working toward developing a research-scale quantum computer by investigating superconducting circuits that operate at very low temperatures. He will also apply his award toward expanding physics education opportunities for both undergraduates and high school students. He is working with local high school teachers to develop a system to download and analyze information from weather satellites to expose students to principles and applications of basic physics, electromagnetism and data analysis.