Two Gusties Receive Rossing Physics Scholarships

Gustavus Adolphus College students Mikaela Algren ’17 and Grace Kerber ’17 have been named Rossing Physics Scholars for 2015-16. Algren is one of five students to receive a $10,000 scholarship for next year, while Kerber is one of seven students to receive a $5,000 honorable mention scholarship for next year.

The Thomas D. Rossing Fund for Physics Education awards scholarships annually to exemplary students in physics at colleges and universities affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).

Algren and Kerber are both physics majors who took advantage of the College’s First Year Research Experience program last summer when they spent 10 weeks working with Assistant Professor of Physics Jessie Petricka in his ion trapping lab.

“That experience is when I realized that research is what I want to do for a career,” Kerber said.

Algren, a native of Prior Lake, Minn., also spent time working with Professor of Physics Chuck Niederriter last spring on an energy consumption monitoring project on campus. She is also a member of the women’s track and field team this spring as a middle distance runner. Algren says Gustavus’s liberal arts curriculum has been a perfect fit for her.

“Not only have I had the opportunity to take many courses outside physics to satisfy my other interests, but I have also been introduced to a multitude of new and exciting opportunities through my studies in physics,” Algren said.

Kerber, a native of Boulder, Colorado, says that one of best things about attending Gustavus is the relationships you can develop with faculty members.

“What has been the most help to me academically and personally here at Gustavus is the faculty’s commitment to their students,” Kerber said. “Whether it’s a problem on the homework set, or something outside of class, they are always there to listen and help.”

In addition to her work in the Physics Department, Kerber is a member of the Gustavus Choir and the Philharmonic Orchestra. Next spring she hopes to study abroad at the University of Geneva and eventually plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics after graduating from Gustavus.