Meet Recent Recipients of the Van Nattan-Hansen-Anderson Scholarship
2021 (four recipients)
Sonata Simonaitis-Boyd
Sonata was the sole recipient of the VNH scholarship in 2020 and repeats in 2021. In her first year at the University of California San Diego, she pursued a physics course sequence as her major. She intends to specialize in astrophysics, with a minor in Mathematics. Her goal is to pursue a Ph.D. and go into research in areas that she is interested in, such as the theoretical aspects of astrophysics, especially the physics behind black holes. She is also keeping her options open to work in the industry in firms like NASA or SpaceX.
Besides her university studies, she turned her volunteer position at Optical InfraRed (OIR) Laboratory to a work-study position. She is involved in studying the data collected and interpreting it in graphs and plots. In the summer of 2021, she was also participating, as an intern, in Carnegie Observatories’ summer research program, focusing on lab work primarily with quasars and galaxy spectra.
Sonata is also interested in medieval history. She intends to take some history courses as part of her liberal arts education. She has been working part-time since 2019 to finance her education. Scholarships like the VNH lessen her financial burden and help her pursue her dreams in astrophysics. She is already a role model for girls in the STEM field.
Jackson Eames
Jackson finds physics fascinating and has a passion for all the current unknowns in the field of astrophysics, such as using mathematical models and equations to predict the way neutron stars evolve. His dream career is to be a researcher at a university, working in the field of theoretical physics, pushing the boundaries of human knowledge with his research.
Black holes are a particular area of interest for Jackson. He has read and studied the latest research on them and is enthusiastic about all the new theories about them, including Einstein-Rosen bridge theory involving wormholes.
In addition to astronomy, he has a passion for music, especially percussion, marching with multiple different ensembles, from local high school to world-class independent groups. He made many friends through music and marching with groups. Music is part of his life, as much as physics is.
Jackson is planning to attend the University of Alabama, and major in Physics and Mathematics, with a minor in Liberal Arts.
Connor Rosenthal
Conner finds dark matter to be the most fascinating topic as a whole new world of particles to explore and experiment with. He wants to be a researcher studying the unknown universe, more specifically astrophysics.
He has recently had summer camps where he had a chance of using radio astronomy to study a nebula, and involved in research group studying a supernova.
Conner also has a a strong interest in acting and theater, which he has been participating in since he was ten years old. He is also passionate about literature, storytelling, and history.
Korbin Aydin Hansen
Astronomy and astrophysics are childhood passions for Korbin. His ideal career would be exploring the issues around mining asteroids, from research, to engineering, to mission planning. He sees great promise for mankind in asteroid mining. He has written a research report on optimizing the mining of near-Earth asteroids.
As someone interested in engineering, he likes to read and learn about how space programs solve the problems associated with each planet, such as the seven minutes of terror on Mars, or achieving the escape velocity necessary to reach the outer planets.
He was raised in a multicultural family with both parents in academics. He has been very inquisitive, and his parents have pushed him to develop both academically as well as socially. He is planning to attend the University of Arizona. As a National Merit Scholar, Korbin’s tuition is already covered at the university.
2020 (one recipient)
Sonata Simonaitis-Boyd
Like last year, this year’s pool of applicants was incredibly strong. However, Sonata stood out above the crowd.
Sonata is just beginning her astronomy career, but has always had a deep connection with outer space. She has been attending astrophysics lectures at the University of California, San Diego since she was in elementary school. Black holes held a particular fascination for her. In high school, she took AP classes in Physics and loved them, while graduating as valedictorian.
During her senior year, she continued her astronomical studies at UCSD with astrophysicist Shelley Wright, studying quasars with her. She also signed up to take Astronomy 101 at her local community college, which sustained her passion for the subject. She did all of this while working part-time to help support her family through difficult financial times.
Sonata is now in her first year at UCSD. She intends to major in Physics with a specialization in Astrophysics. Her goal is to go on to eventually obtain her Ph.D. and to become a role model for other girls in the field.
2019 (three recipients)
Ryan Webster
This is the second year that Ryan has received the VNH Scholarship. Ryan is entering his senior year at the University of Arizona, where he is majoring in astronomy with a minor in physics.
In addition to his course work, Ryan has continued his work at the Steward Observatory as a Large Binocular Telescope Adaptive Optics Specialist. Dr. Steve Ertel, an Associate Researcher at the Steward Observatory, says Ryan’s work is “…critical to the operations of one of the most advanced adaptive optics systems in the world on the largest optical telescope in the world.”
This summer, Ryan is pursing research at Texas A&M through a National Science Foundation funded Research Experience for Undergraduates internship. He is using astrometry data from the Gaia Space Observatory to determine the orbits of several dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way, which will help astronomers gain better insight to the distribution of dark matter around the Milky Way as well as how dwarf galaxies evolve over time. He will be presenting his findings at the 235th American Astronomical Society winter meeting.
Anna Maxey
Anna has just started her journey to becoming an astronomer, but has had a life-long passion. Anna fell in love with astronomy looking up in wonder at the Milky Way under dark skies from her childhood home. She is currently a student at Red Rocks Community College, where is working toward an associate’s degree in science, with a physics designation. She then plans to transfer to the University of Colorado, where she will pursue a degree in astrophysics.
Anna is also a Denver Astronomical Society member and is currently in training to become a telescope operator at Chamberlin Observatory. David Shouldice said she is one of the most enthusiastic and driven trainees he has had the pleasure to work with.
Daniel Percuoco-Poras
Daniel will be starting his freshman year at the University of Colorado Boulder this fall, where he will be majoring in Physics and Astrophysics.
Daniel graduated Summa Cum Laude from Arvada West High School and has always focused on STEM coursework in order to get him closer to his dream of becoming an astrophysicist.
One of his teachers, Christyn Keyler, says that “Daniel is one of the most resilient and multi-faceted students I have ever had in my career. His story of overcoming odds in his academic prowess is given meaning by his pure, humble, and honest character.”
2018 (two recipients)
Connor Bray
Connor graduated magna cum laude from the Colorado School of Mines in 2018 with a B.S. in Engineering Physics with a Computer Science minor and is already well established in the field of astronomy and engineering having completed two internships with NASA. He is now pursuing his Master’s degree where he will be researching dark matter by searching for the sterile neutrino, a hypothetical particle that interacts with matter only via gravity.
Connor has been a member of the Denver Astronomical Society since 2013 and credits the DAS as one of his inspirations to pursue a career in astrophysics or aerospace engineering.
Ryan Webster
Ryan is currently a junior at the University of Arizona, where he is majoring in astronomy with a minor in physics.
In addition to his course work, Ryan works at the Steward Observatory as a Large Binocular Telescope Adaptive Optics Specialist and as the Chief Telescope Operator of the Steward 21” Telescope.
He is also working on research into white dwarf planetary systems using the Large Binocular Telescope. Ryan has been interested in astronomy since childhood, but says that working at S&S Optika was what really ignited his passion and set him on a path to becoming an astronomer.
Where Are They Now?
Checking in on Past Van Nattan-Hansen-Anderson Scholarship Winners
Dr. Mark Bottorff
Dr. Bottorff was a DAS Associate member in the 1970’s, and is familiar to DAS members as a companion at local star parties and a frequent speaker at DAS general meetings. He is an Assistant Professor of Physics at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas. Mark’s research over the years has focused on quasars, the super massive black holes that serve as the most powerful energy sources in the universe. He began studying quasars while earning his Ph.D. and working as a research assistant at the University of Kentucky. He stayed for three years as a post-doctoral researcher and wrote papers based on quasar information gathered by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Dr. Brad Schaefer
Dr. Schaefer received his Ph.D in Astronomy and Astrophysics from MIT in 1983. He is a Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy at Louisiana State University. A prime interest of his research has been to use the photometry of exploding objects to get results of interest for cosmology. He was involved in the exploration of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) to use as standard candles in cosmological investigations.
Dr. C. Nick Arge
Dr. Arge is the head of the Solar Physics Laboratory (SPL) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. SPL is one of the largest solar physics laboratories in the world. It is comprised of about 80 solar scientists, postdocs, students, and support staff. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Colorado & NOAA/Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) from 1996-2003 and then the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Space Vehicles Directorate from 2004-2016. Dr. Arge received his B.S. in Physics at the University of Arizona in 1985, an M.S. degree in Physics at the University of Minnesota in 1988, and a Ph.D. in Physics in 1997 at the University of Delaware. His research interests include the physics of the corona and solar wind, especially modeling them for both basic and applied (e.g., space weather forecasting) purposes. Dr. Arge is the lead developer of the Wang-Sheeley-Arge (WSA) coronal and solar wind model, which along with the Enlil solar wind model, was transitioned into operations at the National Weather Service (NWS) in 2011. The coupled WSA+Enlil model is the first space weather model to be transitioned to operations at the NWS. Dr. Arge is a member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the Solar Physics Division of AAS, and American Geophysical Union (AGU). He received the Van Nattan-Hansen-Anderson Scholarship twice in the early 1980s.
Dr. Joseph Pesce
Dr. Pesce received his B.A. in Physics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He went on to obtain an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Cambridge University and the International School for Advanced Studies, Trieste, Italy.
Dr. Pesce is a Program Director at the NSF, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Astronomical Sciences. An Astrophysicist with 30 years of experience, his primary areas of interest is in the external environments of galaxies hosting super massive black holes (Active Galactic Nuclei – AGN – in particular blazars); formation and evolution of AGN and galaxies; intergalactic medium in clusters of galaxies; imaging and spectroscopy of AGN (optical, IR, UV, X-ray); multiwavelength (radio to gamma) monitoring studies of blazars; cool stars and stellar atmospheres (AGB stars, supernovae progenitors).
He is the Program Officer responsible for the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the Central Development Laboratory (CDL), the Very Large Array (VLA), and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA).
Dr. Pesce is still an active member of the DAS, and recently joined the VNH Committee to help select future scholarship recipients.
Anthony Gojanovic, M.S.
Mr. Gojanovic received his B.A. in Mathematics from the University of Colorado, Boulder. He went on to obtain a M.S. degree in Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Denver, and was a statistician for 30 years at Coors Brewing Company in Golden, Colorado, collaborating on a vast arena of research projects ranging from optimizing barley harvests to understanding antioxidant properties in fermented beverages. One of his notable accomplishments was development of a simulation program to determine survival probabilities of a lander mission on Mars in collaboration with the University of Denver and Lockheed Martin. Currently he is semi-retired and the owner of A&G Statworks and a volunteering member of the DAS. His current interests include computational astronomy and cosmology.
James Zavislan, Ph.D.
Dr. Zavislan chose not to enter the field of physics and astronomy, but used his B.S. Degree in Optics and his Ph.D. in Optics in 1988 (from the University of Rochester) to do research improving the performance of optical imaging systems for biomedical, material science, and remote sensing applications. He is an inventor or co-inventor on 42 issued U.S. patents, an author or co-author on 20 papers, and the co-editor of a book on optical systems. His current area of research is skin imaging. He holds two associate professorships at The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, in New York.