Prestigious US Scholarship for Otago Physics Student

A University of Otago postgraduate physics student has gained a prestigious and highly competitive international award to undertake PhD study in the United States.

Wynton Moore is the second Otago student to gain an International Fulbright Science and Technology Award, estimated to be worth more than NZ$350,000.

The awards, which are the US Government's most prestigious and valuable education scholarships, were first granted last year, when fellow Otago graduate Irene Ballagh became the only New Zealander to gain the award.

Otago students have now scooped two of three scholarships awarded in New Zealand.

According to Fulbright officials, only three other countries have been successful in obtaining this "hat trick" in successfully nominating three candidates for the two rounds of competition held so far.

Internationally, only 40 students were granted a 2008 scholarship after 131 were nominated from 63 countries.

Wynton is currently completing a Master's degree through the University's Jack Dodd Centre for Photonics and Ultra-Cold Atoms.

Next August, he will travel to the US to pursue a PhD in theoretical cosmology – a field which relates to the beginnings and development of the universe. He hopes to study at either Berkeley or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 2006, at the age of 19, Wynton completed his Otago BSc (Hons) through the Jack Dodd Centre. Originally from Wanganui, he attended Logan Park High School in Dunedin from 2000-2003. In his final year at Logan Park, he took first-year physics papers at Otago.

For his PhD, Wynton is interested in using recent astronomical observations of cosmic microwave background radiation to study how the universe evolved from the big bang to its present form.

While cosmology is not one of Otago's research and teaching focuses, the theoretical methods he has immersed himself in for his Master's will be generally applicable in pursuing his new field, Wynton says.

"The Jack Dodd Centre is at the forefront of theoretical study of quantum optics and ultra-cold gases. On both the theory and experimental sides, the Centre is doing truly world-class work."

Much of the theoretical work in the Centre involves developing computer simulations of Bose-Einstein Condensates (BEC), he says.

For his Master's, Wynton is studying a Fermi gas, which while very different to BEC, shows some similar elements to its behaviour. He is working on teasing out those elements and simulating the Fermi gas using the BEC simulation methods.

Wynton has been inspired by the quest to understand the origin and evolution of the universe ever since reading Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time in his early teens.

"My father left his copy lying around and I picked it up. It was my first introduction to this amazing world of ideas. I went on to read it a number of times because there was so much to try to understand," he says.

After his five years of US study, he hopes to embark on an academic career in New Zealand.

University Director of Graduate Research Services Dr Charles Tustin says Wynton's win is the latest in a dream run of scholarship successes for the University.

"In the three most significant rounds of scholarships for UK and US study available this year – the Rhodes, the Woolf Fisher and the International Fulbright Science and Technology scholarships – Otago students have scooped five of the eight on offer," Dr Tustin says.

"These students have come from a variety of disciplines including physics, law, chemistry and medicine. Their fantastic achievements reflect the University's emphasis on fostering a culture of research excellence that strongly informs and enhances our teaching."

About the Scholarship:
International Fulbright Science and Technology Awards are offered to graduate students who demonstrate unique aptitude and innovation in scientific fields, leadership potential and the ability to be a cultural ambassador for their country. Candidates are nominated by their home country's Fulbright commission and selected by rigorous international competition.

It covers three years of tuition and living costs, with the host university covering the remaining two years of study. The Fulbright award also includes health insurance and allowances for books and equipment, research costs and conference attendance, with a total estimated value of over NZ$350,000.

http://www.fulbright.org.nz/awards/nz-ifst.html