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Recent Physics Graduate Awarded Prestigious Scholarship

Recent Physics Graduate Awarded Prestigious Scholarship

Jessica Doehrmann '11 will begin the Ph.D. program at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences in the fall. (Photo submitted by Julie Doehrmann)

Bethel University physics graduate Jessica Doehrmann ’11 was selected as a recipient of the Willis E. Lamb Jr. Endowed Scholarship in Optical Sciences, awarded by the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences for the 2012-2013 academic year. Recipients must pursue a Ph. D. and demonstrate academic excellence through a previous GPA of 3.7 or higher. 

“I feel extremely blessed to have received this scholarship,” says Doehrmann. “I definitely see it as a gift from God and further confirmation of His plans for me.”    

During the first year of her Ph.D. program, Doehrmann will rotate through her choice of four research groups and will select one to participate in during her second year either as a funded research assistant or as the recipient of the same scholarship, if available for 2013-2014. Doehrmann was also awarded a research fellowship from the University of Arizona.  

“I worked closely with Jessica as her research advisor and teacher,” says Dr. Chad Hoyt, associate professor of physics at Bethel. “Jessica has a gentle, enjoyable manner about her but she is very sharp when thinking about physics and experimental issues. I expect that she’ll continue to be successful.”

Doehrmann will begin her doctoral studies in Arizona in August, after she returns from service in Nicaragua with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). 

“After graduate school, I hope to become a physics professor in a university with some optics-related research,” says Doehrmann. “But ultimately, my goal is to expand God’s kingdom wherever He places me.”

The scholarship is named after Willis E. Lamb Jr., who received a Nobel Prize in Physics for his experimental work on the structure of the hydrogen atom in 1995. His work laid the foundation for future research in quantum electrodynamics. From 1955-2002 Lamb was a professor at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences.