Connor Bice, a recently graduated JILA graduate student, has been awarded the 2023 Richard Nelson Thomas award.
Before graduating, JILA graduate student Connor Bice recently received the 2023 Richard Nelson Thomas Award. This annual award is given to the most outstanding graduate student in astrophysics at the University of Colorado Boulder in honor of Dr. Richard Nelson Thomas. Dr. Thomas was one of the founding members of JILA and an influential scientist in astrophysics.
The JILA astrophysical faculty nominate outstanding students each year and vote to determine the award recipient. JILA Fellow Juri Toomre, Bice's former advisor, presented the award, along with Dr. Nelson's widow, Nora Thomas. Both spoke of Bice's research rigor and dedication to the field of astrophysics. Bice's research focused on activities around m-dwarf stars. Congratulations!
The Physics Frontiers Centers (PFC) program supports university-based centers and institutes where the collective efforts of a larger group of individuals can enable transformational advances in the most promising research areas. The program is designed to foster major breakthroughs at the intellectual frontiers of physics by providing needed resources such as combinations of talents, skills, disciplines, and/or specialized infrastructure, not usually available to individual investigators or small groups, in an environment in which the collective efforts of the larger group can be shown to be seminal to promoting significant progress in the science and the education of students. PFCs also include creative, substantive activities aimed at enhancing education, broadening participation of traditionally underrepresented groups, and outreach to the scientific community and general public.