College of Science 2020 Honors Celebration: UNT Physics | College of Science
April 27, 2020

College of Science 2020 Honors Celebration: UNT Physics

The College of Science is excited to celebrate our Spring 2020 Honors Award recipients for UNT's Department of Physics. The department has chosen to recognize its top sophomore, junior, and graduating senior. The three undergraduate students recognized have the highest GPA among their peers.

Outstanding Sophomore Physics Major: Zachary Jernigan

Outstanding Junior Physics Major: MacKenzie Santsch

"When I was in high school, physics was the main subject I enjoyed. Specifically, I always liked the topic of space exploration. When I first entered college, however, I came in with plans to be a psychiatrist because that was an interest as well. Over time, I couldn't stop thinking about a career in physics, so I changed my major and haven't regretted it. My goal is to get a Masters in Aerospace Engineering and pursue a career in either the private sector or in governmental research organizations."

Outstanding Graduating Senior Physics Major: Jonathan Cuevas

The Department of Physics is also honoring two of its graduate students.

Outstanding 2nd or 3rd Year Graduate Student in Physics: Dmytro Shymkiv

Dmytro has a perfect 4.0 GPA in his graduate courses and was chosen by the core course instructors as the top student.

"I became interested in physics in the 6th grade at school when I participating in a physics tournament. I enjoyed the discussions about every day phenomena, which can be explained using physics. Since then, I dedicated a lot of time to reading books that explored complicated problems in physics and mathematics. This extra effort helped me to take several times the winning places at the final stages of the Olympiads and Competitions in physics. In the 11th grade, I realized that this subject could help me in achieving my goals. The most essential from them is knowledge about how our world is functioning."

Outstanding Senior Graduate Student Researcher in Physics: Safaa Hassan

Under the direction of Dr. Yuankun Lin, Safaa already has thirteen publications, including seven as first author. He also has 4 proceedings publications, including one as first author.

"Ever since I heard about Albert Einstein's theories and Ibn al-Haytham, an Arab physicist optician from the time of antiquity, I have been enamoured with physics. This is why I decided to pursue a degree in physics and optics. I plan to graduate this May. My dream is to make use of the knowledge and experience I have gained during my studies at UNT in a multicultural and professional business context ‎that allows me to realize my potentials. ‎My advice for the new college students is to be well-organized, persistent, and passionate about what they study in order to be able to succeed in ‎academic and professional lives. ‎I would like the world to know that without the love and support of my beloved wife, I could not have been able to make this kind of accomplishment."

We invite all members of the UNT community to follow along as we celebrate the academic accomplishments of our students on Twitter via @UNTscience or #COSHonors2020!

Many have asked how they can help us support our community during these challenging times, so the university created a fund to help students who have immediate and pressing needs related to COVID-19. You can make a gift to the fund at http://one.unt.edu/untcares.

If you're a UNT student who needs financial support, apply here: https://www.unt.edu/staygreen