Physics Professor Wins $30,000 Fellowship

Kerry J. Vahala, assistant professor of applied physics at Caltech, has been named the first recipient of the new Richard P. Feynman-Hughes Fellowship, which will provide $30,000 for research and may be renewed annually up to a maximum of three years.

The fellowship, sponsored by Hughes Aircraft Co., will be awarded annually to a young faculty member in Caltech’s division of Engineering and Applied Science.

It was established to honor the memory of Richard P. Feynman, Caltech faculty member and Nobel laureate in physics, who also consulted and taught at Hughes.