UW physicist receives presidential citation

A new member of the physics faculty is the recipient of the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on young scientists.

Brenda L. Dingus, an astrophysicist who specializes in gamma ray astronomy, is one of 60 young scientists from around the nation who were given Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) today, April 11, according to a White House announcement.

Dingus, 39, joined the UW–Madison faculty this spring as an associate professor of physics. She came from the University of Utah, where she has established herself as a leader in the field of gamma ray astronomy, the study of the origins and nature of high-energy cosmic rays that emanate from space.

Each PECASE winner is awarded $500,000 over a five-year period to support work in research and education.

Hailing the PECASE winners, National Science Foundation director Rita Colwell says, “We expect that these promising scientists and engineers will one day become the leaders of this nation’s research and education community.”

Over the course of her career, Dingus has earned an international reputation for the development of ground- and space-based gamma ray detectors. She has been a leader in the development of NASA’s GLAST satellite, an orbiting observatory designed to sample cosmic rays that is scheduled for launch within a few years.

Cosmic rays are of interest to scientists because they constantly bombard the Earth, yet little is known about where they come from. On Earth, scientists actually study a secondary effect of cosmic rays called Cherenkov light, fleeting flashes of blue light that occur when high-energy cosmic particles collide. Analysis of the light can provide clues about where cosmic rays are coming from and other details of their nature.

Physics department chair Lee Pondrom says is a terrific addition to the physics faculty, and she will bolster already strong UW–Madison programs in astrophysics.