St. Olaf student named Rossing Physics Scholar
St. Olaf College student Colin Scheibner ’17 has been named a Rossing Physics Scholar for 2016–17.
Scheibner will receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Foundation through the Rossing Fund for Physics Education Endowment.
The award is given each year to outstanding physics students selected from across the nation.
Scheibner, who is majoring in physics and mathematics at St. Olaf, analyzed ultrafast electron images last summer as a member of the University of Minnesota Materials Research Science and Engineering Center Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.
“Working with passionate graduate students inspired me to dig deeper into questions, take bigger risks in trying new ideas, and reflect more thoroughly on successes and failures,” Scheibner says. “I learned the importance of perseverance, clear communication, and, quite often, asking for help.”
This summer Scheibner will continue his physics research by working on a project called Find Planet 9 with the University of Michigan Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. As part of that project, he will analyze data from the Dark Energy Survey project.
After completing a bachelor’s degree at St. Olaf, Scheibner plans to pursue a Ph.D. in theoretical physics and become a professor.
Gifts from Thomas Rossing established the Rossing Fund for Physics Education Endowment in the ELCA Foundation in 2005. The goals of the scholarship program are to encourage top students to attend one of the 27 ELCA colleges and universities in the country, and to consider pursuing physics once they are there. Rossing taught at St. Olaf for 14 years, is a professor emeritus of physics at Northern Illinois University, and is currently a visiting professor of music at Stanford University.