MacAdam Graduate Excellence Fellowship

The Keith B. MacAdam Graduate Excellence Fellowship in Physics and Astronomy was established in 2015 to support the most talented graduate students with outstanding potential in research. 

The Fellowship is the most distinguished graduate fellowship award in the Department of Physics & Astronomy -- similar to the Presidential Graduate Fellowship -- and is to be awarded to a post-qualifying-exam Ph.D. student who is working on dissertation research with a member of our department's faculty. It is an important part of the legacy entrusted to our department by our friend and colleague Dr. Keith MacAdam. The duration of the award is one year (July to June), and it may be renewed once for a total of two years. (The previous awardee, if still eligible, should provide updated application materials for consideration and will compete on an equal basis with new nominees.) The successful candidate will be fully funded from this award and will have no other duties (TA, grading etc.) in the department.

Previous winners are:

The 2026-27 MacAdam Fellow, Ahmed Barbar is a theoretical physicist. 

The 2025-26 MacAdam Fellow, Richard McDonald, a graduate from the East Tennessee State University, is a nuclear physicist.  

"I am truly honored to have received the Keith B. MacAdam Graduate Excellence Fellowship<" McDonald said." I am beyond grateful to the MacAdam family and their generosity. For the first time in my graduate school experience, I have been able to completely immerse myself in my field of research. Receiving the MacAdam Fellowship gave me the opportunity to start a new project that required a lot of time and effort over the past year, providing me with a great stride toward graduating and taking the next steps in my career."

Richard E. McDonald IV, receiving the award, with Dr. Joe Brill

Richard E. McDonald IV, receiving the award, with Dr. Joe Brill

 

The 2024-25 MacAdam Fellow, Julianne Goddard, a cum laude graduate from the University of South Carolina, is researching computational astrophysics. 

"Being a current recipient of the MacAdam Fellowship has been a true blessing and will profoundly shape my journey in graduate school and beyond," Goddard said. "The fellowship has granted me the invaluable gift of time, allowing me to fully immerse myself in my research. Without the obligations of previous years, I have been able to focus entirely on developing and refining my work, accelerating my progress toward my degree and preparing for the next steps. The freedom to engage so thoroughly with my studies has reinforced my passion for astrophysics and strengthened my aspirations for a career in computational cosmology. I never had the opportunity to meet Keith MacAdam, but I know of his reputation, and am honored to benefit from his legacy and his family’s generosity."

The 2023-24 MacAdam Fellow, Nikolaos Angelinos, is a University of Crete graduate specializing in theoretical physics. 

"Receiving the MacAdam Fellowship was a great honor and a pivotal moment in my academic journey," he said. "It was invaluable not only for the additional time it provided but also for the encouragement it gave me during my crucial final year as a graduate student. The fellowship enabled me to attend conferences, make progress on my research, complete my thesis and successfully graduate. It also gave me the flexibility to prepare postdoctoral applications and plan my move abroad. I am deeply grateful not only for the support it provided during my graduate studies but also for shaping the next chapter of my career."

Sinong Liu, the 2020–21 MacAdam Fellow, came to UK after earning an undergraduate degree at Fudan University, Shanghai, China. Her research is on quantum entanglement, which plays a key role in gauge-gravity duality. 

“A zillion thanks for awarding me the fellowship," she said. "It is very helpful. Almost at the same time when I was awarded the fellowship, I received an offer from the KITP (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at UC-Santa Barbara) graduate fellow program. With the help of the MacAdam fellowship, I had more time to participate the activities in KITP and learned a lot. Furthermore, with the support of the fellowship, I wrote a paper with my adviser, Professor Das, and collaborators in TIFR (total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy). The fellowship let me focus on my research during the semester. As a fifth-year graduate student, I am thinking about my career in the future. To visit active and creative researchers in other institutes and to engage in more research projects, which are supported by MacAdam Fellowship, plays a very positive role in my career.”

The 2019-20 winner, Maryam Dehghanian, has been the subject of two profiles in UK news for her achievements:

Maryam Dehghanian, receiving the award, with Phyllis MacAdam and Dr. Chris Crawford

"I am deeply honored to have been awarded the MacAdam Fellowship by the department," said Nisheeta Desai, the 2017-18 recipient, "this fellowship was instrumental in the successful completion of my Ph.D., enabling me to fully dedicate myself to research and attend conferences freely. I had a truly fruitful and satisfying Ph.D. experience, and I am grateful for the support that made it possible. It was also a real pleasure to meet Phylis and get to know her over lunch at the Boone Center."

“I had the privilege of meeting Professor Keith MacAdam just a month before his passing," said Jonathan D’Emidio, the 2016-17 recipient, "I truly admired his passion for science and his drive to inspire younger generations of students at all levels. I have the honor of receiving the MacAdam graduate fellowship, which allows me to significantly advance my research in theoretical condensed matter physics and build the foundation of my future scientific career. Meanwhile, many more students have benefitted from the awe-inspiring view of the nighttime sky from the MacAdam Observatory. Gifts like these are invaluable to our department and they have an immeasurable impact on the students that they reach.”