Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
STEM

Samantha Usman Receives Highly Competitive Astronaut Scholarship

Monday, July 13, 2015, By Amy Manley
Share
College of Arts and SciencesspeakersStudents

A rising senior in the College of Arts and Sciences is flying high upon learning of her latest academic achievement.

Samantha Usman

Samantha Usman

Samantha Usman ’16, a double major in physics and mathematics, has just been named a recipient of the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation’s (ASF) award. She will use the $10,000 prize to continue her research on gravitational waves with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) group at Syracuse.

Originally created by the Mercury 7 astronauts, the ASF is a nonprofit organization backed by more than 100 of America’s space pioneers from Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs. The organization’s mission is to provide scholarships and support to the brightest students in the country pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, otherwise known as the STEM disciplines.

According to her faculty mentors in the Department of Physics, it was practically written in the heavens that Usman would find success in her academic career.

“I’m thrilled that Samantha has been recognized with an Astronaut Scholarship. Through her undergraduate research project, Sam has already made important contributions to the way that LIGO searches for colliding neutron stars and black holes. These contributions have been broadly recognized,” says Duncan Brown, associate professor of physics. “Sam has tremendous potential and I’m sure that she will soon be a leader in the field of gravitational-wave astrophysics.”

Usman learned of her award during her summer internship on the West Coast. She is currently working at California Institute of Technology, studying the use of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars to understand the physics of matter at very high densities. When she returns to Syracuse in the fall, she will continue this work for her capstone thesis as part of the Renée Crown University Honors program.

“I’ve always loved mathematics, but I find it particularly beautiful when it describes nature,” explains Usman, who is also minoring in French. “I feel fortunate that I have worked with Professor Brown since my freshman year. I’ve learned so much and have accomplished more than I have ever thought possible.”

Upon graduation next May, Usman will begin her pursuit of a doctorate in physics.

“I plan on applying for a Fulbright or Marshall scholarship to study abroad for one year before returning to the United States to complete my Ph.D. in physics,” says the Pittsburgh native. “Following that, I hope to continue my research as a post-doctoral researcher and eventually as a professor at a university in the U.S.”

  • Author

Amy Manley

  • Recent
  • NSF I-Corps Semiconductor and Microelectronics Free Virtual Course Being Offered
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025, By Cristina Hatem
  • Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang Named Interim Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025, By Emma Ertinger
  • Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Bing Dong to Present at Prestigious AI Conference
    Wednesday, July 16, 2025, By Emma Ertinger
  • Lender Center Researcher Studies Veterans’ Post-Service Lives, Global Conflict Dynamics
    Tuesday, July 15, 2025, By Diane Stirling
  • Maxwell’s Robert Rubinstein Honored With 2025 Wasserstrom Prize for Graduate Teaching
    Tuesday, July 15, 2025, By News Staff

More In STEM

NSF I-Corps Semiconductor and Microelectronics Free Virtual Course Being Offered

University researchers with groundbreaking ideas in semiconductors, microelectronics or advanced materials are invited to apply for an entrepreneurship-focused hybrid course offered through the National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. The free virtual course runs from Sept. 15 through…

Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang Named Interim Department Chair of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is excited to announce that Professor Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang has been appointed interim department chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE), as of July 1, 2025. Zhang serves as executive director of…

Star Scholar: Julia Fancher Earns Second Astronaut Scholarship for Stellar Research

Julia Fancher, a rising senior majoring in physics and mathematics in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), a logic minor in A&S and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program, has been renewed as an Astronaut Scholar for…

Traugott Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Bing Dong to Present at Prestigious AI Conference

Professor Bing Dong was recently selected to lead a workshop on artificial intelligence (AI) at NeurIPS, the Conference and Workshop on Neural Information Processing Systems. Founded in 1987, NeurIPS is one of the most prestigious annual conferences dedicated to machine learning and AI research. Dong’s workshop…

6 A&S Physicists Awarded Breakthrough Prize

Our universe is dominated by matter and contains hardly any antimatter, a notion which still perplexes top scientists researching at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The Big Bang created equal amounts of matter and antimatter, but now nearly everything—solid, liquid, gas or plasma—is…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.