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, research, and service. Their peers have nominated and selected the recipients, signifying their high regard among those who know them well. Underwood’s scholarship stands at the forefront of theoretical physics, seamlessly navigating the intersections of Einstein’s general relativity, cosmology, high-energy physics, string theory, and loop quantum gravity. His outstanding achievements are reflected in his 28 refereed publications since 2006 and in the recognition earned through three invitations to

selected the recipients, signifying their high regard among those who know them well. Underwood’s scholarship stands at the forefront of theoretical physics, seamlessly navigating the intersections of Einstein’s general relativity, cosmology, high-energy physics, string theory, and loop quantum gravity. His outstanding achievements are reflected in his 28 refereed publications since 2006 and in the recognition earned through three invitations to serve as a keynote speaker at major conferences and

full-time faculty, approximately 70 graduate students and over 100 undergraduate majors in the Department of Physics and Applied Physics. The Department has external grant and contract funding of over $10 million per year. Faculty research areas include advanced materials, astronomy and astrophysics, biomedical optics, biophysics, cosmology, medical physics, electromagnetic metamaterials, nanoscience and laser applications, nuclear physics (both fundamental and applied), photonics, plasma physics

second after the Big Bang, trying to understand the conditions that gave rise to the cosmic inflation in which the universe grew exponentially. “Understanding how the world really works is really enjoyable for me,” Fortuner said. The Tacoma native knew next to nothing about cosmology when he began working on the project less than a year ago, but now he’s exploring territory uncharted by researchers. Fortuner worked under the direction of Bret Underwood, Assistant Professor of Physics, on the student

he was finishing his Ph.D. from the University of Victoria, British Columbia. He has been teaching continuously ever since. In 1997 he was hired into a tenure-track position, and since 2001 has been associate professor of physics. He has served the university as a department chair and has extensive experience on the Faculty Affairs Committee and Budget Advisory Committee. Starkovich’s professional academic expertise is in general relativity and cosmology. As an undergraduate he studied

and I love working in the lab. I’m not sure yet if I’d be willing to do what I’m working on right now just because it’s only computer science for the most part. I really haven’t done a lot of physics in this internship. I was actually talking to my mentor the other day, who is a cosmologist. He likes to do physics problems as well, and he’s working on all computer science things. He said he finds cosmology a bit more interesting because that’s his field. That’s something I’ve also thought about