The American Physical Society has elected the Society’s 2024 Fellows, one of whom is University of Utah’s Tino Nyawelo. 

The APS Fellowship Program recognizes members who have made exceptional contributions in physics research, important applications of physics, significant contributions to physics education, or leadership in or service to APS.

This year,149 Fellows were selected and recognized for their contributions to science. Nyawelo’s honor was by recommendation of the American Physical Society Forum on Diversity and Inclusion at its September council meeting. The citation reads that the award is being made “[f]or significant contributions to creating and sustaining physics and STEM education opportunities for students from marginalized groups, particularly refugees.”

“I am incredibly grateful and humbled by this award,” says Nyawelo. “It feels great to be recognized and rewarded for the hard work that one does. I am grateful to everyone who has always been a part of my journey, from my family to my colleagues who supported me and showed me how to give back to my community. In particular, I would like to thank my former Dean — Pierre Sokolsky who enthusiastically encouraged me from the very beginning and strongly supported my work to provide opportunities for students from marginalized groups in STEM.”

Earlier this year, under the auspices of Nyawelo’s INSPIRE program, a community of refugee students and their families, scientists, educators and policymakers celebrated an event three years in the making. As reported in @The U, Nyawelo and his team installed five cosmic ray detectors atop the Department of Workforce Services Utah Refugee Center in downtown Salt Lake City. The detectors, which measure echoes of cosmic particles bombarding Earth’s atmosphere, were built by nearly 60 participants in the program formally called Investigating the Development of STEM-Positive Identities of Refugee Teens in a Physics Out of School Time Experience. INSPIRE brings science research — in this case particle physics — to teenagers and contributes to a worldwide effort to measure cosmic ray activity on Earth. Data from these detectors are added in real-time to a widely available database that has also recently been relocated to U.

“The APS Fellow distinction is given to less than 0.5% of the non-student APS members and is an incredible honor for our department,” says Carsten Rott, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy. “I am just excited about all the ways that Tino has and continues to enrich our department and give deeper meaning to the importance of STEM education, in many cases making life changing differences for so many students.”

A presentation of certificates is done at the annual meeting of the APS forum on Diversity and Inclusion.