J E F F E R S O N S C H O L A R S F O U N D A T I O N

the jefferson fellows
Rachael Lynn Beaton
C. Mark Pirrung Family Fellow
Department of Astronomy
University of Virginia (B.A.) (M.S.) (Ph.D.)
Lynchburg, Virginia
Rachael continues to work towards her Ph.D. in Astronomy pursuing a rigorous
observational program with a strong focus on science mentoring, teaching and
outreach. She was a recipient of an “All University Teaching Award” in 2011 (one
award for physical sciences) for her work with the undergraduate and graduate
astronomy laboratory classes. In 2012 she won the “Chambliss Award for Student
Achievement” given by the American Astronomical Society for her poster presentation
“The Splash Survey: Washington+DDO51 Photometry Of Andromeda
Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies.” She will present this work in June at the “Great
Andromeda Workshop” at Princeton University as one of only a handful of accepted
oral presentations. This Spring Rachael worked with four undergraduate
students, including a Jefferson Scholar, through the Fellows-Scholars Research
Initiative, as well as working with five high school students at the Central Virginia
Governor’s School for Science and Technology, all of whom were accepted to the
Virginia Junior Academy of Science-the highest honor for high school research
in Virginia. Rachael is recognized as a leader of the Dark Skies, Bright Kids!
program in the U.Va. Astronomy Department, which has just been recognized as
a “Program that Works” by the Virginia Math and Science Education Coalition-the
highest honor for Science Outreach programs in Virginia. Rachael will present
a multi-lingual Astronomy Book created through Dark Skies, Bright Kids! at the
2012 Spring American Astronomical Society Meeting in Anchorage, Alaska. Having
completed her fellowship, Rachael will continue completing her Ph.D. on the
Andromeda Galaxy at U.Va. next year. Her dissertation will address the basics of
galaxy formation from a study of the resolved stars in the Andromeda Galaxy.
Philip Jameson Graber
Trey Beck Fellow
Department of Mathematics
Washington & Lee University (B.S.)
Arlington, Texas
This summer Jameson will defend his dissertation entitled, “The Wave Equation
with Abstract Nonlinear Acoustic Boundary Conditions.” In July he will
begin a post-doctoral research position funded by Inria (National Institute for
Research in Computer Science and Control) located in Paris, France; he will be
working in the area of mathematical control theory. Jameson will complete
his time at the University of Virginia having authored or co-authored a total of
five peer-reviewed journal articles, two of which were published in the past
year (with Belkacem Said-Houari at King Abdullah University of Science and
Technology). Jameson has enjoyed his time as a Jefferson Fellow, although he
will be completing his term a year early.
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