Space Science Program Awards

• The Jackson Space Science Award is presented to the Space Science major with the highest quality point average in the Space Science courses. It is named for Gary D. Jackson (USMA, 1966), a physicist, and wounded Vietnam veteran, who brought the department into the age of the laser.
• The Johnson Analytics Award is presented to the cadet who achieves the highest grade in Astronautics. The award is named after Katherine Johnson, a renowned mathematician whose prowess with analytical geometry and associated calculations helped synch Project Apollo’s Lunar Lander with the moon-orbiting Command and Service Module.
• The Van Allen Award is presented to the cadet who achieves the highest grade in Space Physics. The award is named after James Alfred Van Allen, the American scientist who was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space.
• The Brahe’s Observatory Award is presented to the cadet with the best overall observation journal and associated report in the Observational Astronomy course. The award is named for astronomer Tycho Brahe, whose observations were the basis for the development of Kepler’s laws of planetary motion.
• The Hubble Award is presented to the cadet who achieves the highest grade in the Astrophysics The award is named after Edwin Powell Hubble, an American astronomer who played a crucial role in establishing the fields of extragalactic astronomy and observational cosmology.
• The W.E. Serchak Astronomy Award is presented to the cadet who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in the Astronomy course and made a significant impact on the Astronomy Club. It is named for COL(R) William Serchak (USMA, 1958), who was instrumental in keeping the West Point Observatory in operation during his time as a cadet.

Nuclear Engineering Program Awards

• The Sewell Tappan Tyng Award is presented to the cadet with the most outstanding performance in the Nuclear Engineering Core Engineering Sequence. Nuclear Engineering majors are not eligible for this award.
• The LTG Leslie R. Groves Award is presented to the cadet with the most outstanding performance in the Nuclear Engineering major. To be eligible for the award, a cadet must earn at least a B- in all required courses taken in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and Mathematical Sciences as well as in the Department of Physics and Nuclear Engineering.
• The Fermi Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in the Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering course. Enrico Fermi was a pioneer in nuclear engineering and achieved the first sustained nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago in 1942 using a pile of natural uranium and graphite known as “Fermi’s Pile.”
• The Szilard Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in Radiological Engineering Design. Leo Szilard was the father of the sustaining chain reaction and the first nuclear reactor patent. Dr. Szilard was partly responsible for creation of the Manhattan Project.
• The Lawrence Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in the Nuclear Reactor Engineering course. Earnest O. Lawrence is the American Nobel laureate who invented the first linear particle accelerator and cyclotron. Dr. Lawrence was the first recipient of USMA's Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1958.
• The Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade achieved in the Computational Design in Nuclear Engineering course. Leclerc was a mid-1700’s French mathematician and naturalist credited with creating and using the Monte Carlo method to approximate π by dropping a needle on a ceramic tile with two parallel lines.
• The Curie Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in the Radiological Safety course. Madame Marie Curie was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity and the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes. She directed the first studies in the treatment of neoplasms (cancers) using radioactive isotopes.
• The Bohr Award is presented to the cadet who submits the best ethics paper in the Nuclear Engineering Seminar course. Niels Bohr is the Nobel laureate who made fundamental contributions to understanding atomic structure with his model of the atom. Bohr was instrumental in raising ethical issues about the worldwide use of nuclear technologies.
• The Teller Award is presented to the cadet who earned the highest grade in the Nuclear Weapons Effects course. Edward Teller is the father of the hydrogen bomb. Dr. Teller was the recipient of USMA's Sylvanus Thayer Award in 1986.
• The Compton Award is presented to the cadet who with the highest grade in the Instrumentation and Shielding course. Arthur H. Compton is the American Nobel laureate in physics who discovered the Compton Effect, a fundamental interaction used in the detection of radioactive materials.
• The John von Neumann Award is presented to the cadet with the highest grade in the Advanced Computational Design in Nuclear Engineering course. Professor John von Neuman worked in the Institute for Advanced Study School of Mathematics at Princeton University. In 1947, his letters on Statistical Methods in Neutron Diffusion to researchers at Los Alamos are the earliest known theories of Monte Carlo statistics applied to neutron transport.

• The Oppenheimer Award is presented to the cadets who have the best yearlong Advanced Nuclear System Design project. Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer was the technical leader of the Manhattan Project which designed and tested the first nuclear weapon.

   

Research Program Award

• The Thomas Young Award is presented to the cadet with the best poster presentation on Projects Day for their outstanding project in advanced individual study in either Nuclear Engineering, Physics, or Space Science The awardee is selected by a panel consisting of the Advanced Physics, Nuclear Engineering, Space Science, and Research program directors. Thomas Young is the originator of the double-slit interference experiment.