UW-Madison undergrad one of three to win system Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition

Evan Mast, an undergraduate student studying economics and mathematics, is one of three students in the UW System to win the fifth annual UW System Liberal Arts Essay Scholarship Competition.

Mast is the only student to win from UW-Madison this spring for his essay, The Importance of Cartography.

The College of Letters & Science is proud to see such an great example of a liberal arts student putting into words the value of his degree and area of study.

The essay competition, which was established to support and promote liberal education throughout the state's public university system, invited students to discuss the transformative nature of their educations by focusing on an experience that changed how they viewed themselves and the world.

The competition, which is funded by private funds, is part of the UW System's Liberal Education Initiative, which seeks make the goals and outcomes of liberal arts education accessible and valuable to all UW students, regardless of major or degree program.

Winners will each receive a $2,000 scholarship to help fund the remainder of their undergraduate education.   

The awards were also briefly mentioned in The Capt Times.

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L&S graduate programs highly rated by U.S. News and World Report

Several University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate programs — many in the College of Letters & Science — are ranked among the nation's best in the 2011 edition of U.S. News and World Report's "Best Graduate Schools."

Graduate school rankings are an indicator of the overall quality of the department and caliber of its teaching and faculty.

Not all programs are ranked every year. Those UW programs ranked this year (along with specialties ranked in the top 10 nationally) include:

• Chemistry: tied for seventh overall, with specialties ranked in analytical (eighth), biochemistry (fifth), inorganic (seventh), organic (ninth), physical (seventh) and theoretical (ninth).
• Computer sciences: tied for 11th overall, with specialties ranked in  programming language (10th), and systems (seventh).
  
• Biological sciences: tied for 15th overall, with a specialty ranked in microbiology (third).
• Earth sciences: tied for 13th overall, with specialties ranked in geochemistry (eighth) and geology (eighth).
• Mathematics: tied for 16th overall, with specialties ranked in analysis (10th) and logic (fifth).
• Physics: tied for 17
• Statistics: tied for 12th.

Other highly ranked UW-Madison programs include:

• School of Education: ninth overall. Specialties were ranked in curriculum and instruction (first), education policy (third), elementary education (second), secondary education (second), counseling and personnel services (second), administration and supervision (second), educational psychology (first) and special education (tied for ninth).
• College of Engineering: tied for 15th overall. Specialties were ranked in nuclear (second), chemical engineering (tied for sixth), industrial manufacturing (tied for 10th).
• School of Business: tied for 27th overall. The school's part-time MBA program was tied for 15th.th overall, with a specialty ranked in plasma (tied for second).
• Law: Tied for 28th. 
  
• Medicine:  Tied for 27th, with specialties ranked in primary care (tied for 12th), family medicine (fifth), rural medicine (eighth).
  

For more on the rankings, visit: http://www.usnews.com/

New via University Communications 

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L&S student wins $250,000 fellowship

Daniel Lecoanet, who will graduate with comprehensive honors from University of Wisconsin-Madison this spring with a double major in math and physics, has won a five-year, no-strings-attached fellowship to pursue graduate studies.

The Fannie and John Hertz Foundation in Livermore, Calif., has announced that Lecoanet was one of 15 winners in this year's competition, chosen from almost 600 applicants.

Lecoanet, who worked on the internal dynamics of stars at UW-Madison, says he intends to pursue theoretical physics in grad school.

"In theoretical physics, you have the opportunity to understand the essence of what's going on. There is this process of distilling a lot of experimental information into one clean idea," he says.

Valued at more than $250,000, Hertz Fellowships allow exceptional applied scientists and engineers the freedom to innovate.

"By supporting uniquely talented young leaders in the applied sciences and engineering to develop and explore their genius, the Hertz Foundation promotes innovative solutions to emerging challenges our nation and world face today," says foundation president Jay Davis.

Lecoanet grew up in Madison and attended James Madison Memorial High School.

Lecoanet is now sizing up graduate programs, but his first stop after Madison will be Cambridge, England, where he will study applied mathematics on a Churchill Scholarship.

He was one of only 14 Americans to receive the award, and the first UW-Madison student in 30 years.

(via University Communications: http://www.news.wisc.edu/17912)

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Four L&S faculty named Romnes Award winners

Six of UW–Madison's most promising rising faculty have been named recipients of this year's Romnes Faculty Fellowships.

Four of these rising starts are in the College of Letters & Science.

The award, supported by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), recognizes an exceptional faculty member who has earned tenure within the last four years. Each winner, selected by a Graduate School committee, receives an unrestricted $50,000 award for research support.

The Romnes award is named for the late H. I. Romnes, former chair of the board of AT&T and former president of the WARF board of trustees.

The L&S awardees are:

• Barry Burden, political science, who joined the UW–Madison faculty in 2006 and is currently the director of graduate studies in the political science department. His research has included third-party candidate strategies, election administration in Wisconsin, and the degree to which the values, experiences and interests that shape legislators as individuals also shape their policymaking decision in government.

• Qiang Cui, chemistry, whose research covers a range of topics in theoretical and computational chemistry and biophysics. He is working on computational models to probe the physical mechanisms of energy and signal transduction in complex molecular systems including biomolecular motors, ion pumps and channels.

• Jordan Ellenberg, mathematics, a renowned number theorist whose research topics range from analysis to algebra, including applications of topology to pattern classification, fluid dynamics and statistics. His honors include three medals in the International Mathematical Olympiad, a Sloan Research Fellowship and a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. He is also active in promoting and publicizing mathematics to broader audiences, writing pieces for the popular press and co-organizing the “Math and…” colloquium series at UW–Madison.

• Bradley Postle, psychology, a cognitive neuroscientist who uses cutting-edge brain imaging and stimulation techniques to study memory and cognition. He is a popular teacher and is associate editor of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.
  

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L&S student wins Churchill Scholar Award -- UW's first in 30 years

Daniel Lecoanet an honors student majoring in Physics and Mathematics and a student member of the Faculty Honors Committee and Honors Advisory Board has been named one of 14 Churchill Scholars from around the country.

Lecoanet is the first UW student to win this prestigious award in 30 years.

Lecoanet, originally from Madison, is one of only 14 Churchill Scholars from across the country, including five from public institutions.

He will spend the 2010-11 academic year at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, taking part in a renowned mathematical program that has produced great thinkers such as Sir Isaac Newton and William Thomson, Lord Kelvin.

Since 1963, the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States has awarded more than 430 Churchill Scholarships to American college graduates who have demonstrated extraordinary talent and outstanding achievement in the sciences, engineering, or mathematics.

The award is worth up to $50,000 and covers all tuition and fees, a living allowance and travel.

Congratulations to Daniel! 

For more information: http://www.news.wisc.edu/17663

• UW-Madison Churchill scholar is the only one surprised at award
• UW senior awarded Churchill Scholarship
  

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Six honors undergrads receive Trewartha Senior Thesis grants

Six Letters & Science Honors students have received $2,000 Trewartha Senior Thesis grants. 

The grant enables students to undertake more demanding and extensive honors senior thesis research projects than might otherwise be possible:

• Emily Anstadt (Medical Microbiology and Immunology) to study if cardiac stem cells can regenerate damaged cardiac tissue.
• Daniel Lecaonet (Physics and Mathematics) to study the non-linear evolution of magneto-shear field instabilities
  
• Craig Marquardt (Psychology)  to study the influence of several human genetic polymorphisms on response to aversive events
  
• Cathrine Olien (Art History) to study ancient Cypriot limestone sculptures at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota, FL
  
• Claire Rydell (Classics and History) to study classical self reliance as expressed in the writing of Ralph Waldo Emerson
  
• Casmir Turnquist-Held (Biology and English) to study whether human neural progenitor cells can be transplanted and integrated into brain tissue

Congratulations!

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Rabinowitz receives honorary degree from Complutense University

Paul Rabinowitz, professor of mathematics, received an honorary degree from Complutense University in Madrid, Spain in January 2009. Rabinowitz, currently a Vilas Professor of Mathematics, is well-known for his contributions to nonlinear analysis. 
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