2021 Applied Physics Senior Prize Winners

January 5, 2022

Congratulations to Annie Polish (YC ’21) and Owen Duke (YC ’21) on being awarded the Department of Applied Physics Senior Prize for 2021. Both were seniors in Applied Physics and graduated in May 2021.

Annie Polish is currently working full-time as a postgraduate associate in Professor Laura Newburgh’s lab at Yale. Her senior project was also under the direction of Prof. Newburgh, and was titled, “High-Precision GPS for Drone-Based Calibration of Radio Telescopes”

Owen Duke is currently working on a fusion reactor at CFS, Massachusetts. His senior project was under the direction of Prof. Michel Devoret, and was titled, “Towards a Topological Controlled-Not Gate between Kerr-Cat Qubits.”

 “THE APPLIED PHYSICS PRIZE (1996). Awarded to a senior in Applied Physics who, in the judgment of the Applied Physics faculty, has exhibited outstanding achievement, insight, and originality in independent research. The selection process will be based on a written nomination from the student’s adviser, and input provided by the faculty attending the students’ presentations of their research projects. Nominations will be reviewed by the award committee, consisting of the director of undergraduate studies (chair of the committee) and two other Applied Physics faculty members, which will then select the winner. The award will be presented at the student’s residential college at Commencement.” (Source: Office of the Secretary and Vice President for University Life)