DURHAM, N.H. - A University of New Hampshire senior has won a prestigious research fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to pursue graduate studies in space physics research.

Joshua Stawarz of Kittery, Maine, will receive three years of support and a $30,000 annual stipend to attend the University of Colorado-Boulder as he works toward a Ph.D. in astrophysical and planetary sciences. He plans to continue his space physics research on the study of the cascade of energy associated with turbulent fluctuations in the solar wind (magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, which he began at the Space Science Center at the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space.

Stawarz is the previous recipient of the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) Thomas R. McGetchin Memorial Scholarship and the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. He has authored or co-authored seven scholarly publications reporting the results of his research, and has made presentations of the work at two meetings of the Solar Heliospheric and Interplanetary Environment (SHINE) conference.

"Josh has demonstrated a remarkable degree of independence and professional maturity for a student of his age. The record for care, clarity, and original thought that he brings to his research indicates a bright future ahead for this man," says Charles Smith, research professor of physics in the Space Science Center at the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth Oceans and Space. "He leaves for UC-Boulder where he will be studying jointly with two important figures in the field and I expect in the years ahead he will produce truly important work, although to my prejudiced view he already has."

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is the country's oldest graduate fellowship program that directly supports graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields. The program has a long history of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. Past fellows include many Nobel laureates, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, and Google founder Sergey Brin.

The program provides fellowships to individuals selected early in their graduate careers based on their demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. The three years of support also includes a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance; international research and professional development opportunities; and TeraGrid Supercomputer access. For more information, go to http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=6201

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

A photo of Joshua Stawarz can be download at /unhtoday/news/cj_nr/2011/may/jr09stawartz.jpg
Caption: Joshua Stawarz of Kittery, Maine, is the recipient of a National Science Foundation fellowship. Photo credit: Lisa Nugent, UNH Photographic Services.

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