麻豆破解

Dr. Pitonyak鈥檚 NSF grants surpass $500,000 in support for the College鈥檚 historic student-faculty research program in the sciences. 听

Key Points

• Continued support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) extends Dr. Daniel Pitonyak鈥檚 student-faculty research work for another three years. 听听
• Third NSF grant will enable LVC students to continue to co-author research published in听听top peer-reviewed journals and present at national conferences.听听
• Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, and Data Science majors have co-authored and/or presented research supported by Dr. Pitonyak鈥檚 NSF grants.听

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that it has awarded a third听three-year听grant to听Dr. Daniel Pitonyak, Co-Chair of听Physics听and听Chemistry听and听Associate Professor of Physics.听The听 NSF听grant of slightly over $200,000 will continue to support his听ongoing student-faculty research听on theoretical nuclear physics in the College鈥檚 Neidig-Garber Science Center.听This award builds on Dr. Pitonyak鈥檚听2020听and听2023听NSF grants.听

The NSF grant will provide听additional听funding for听, Hadronic Structure from Spin Observables in听pQCD, through July 31, 2029. This research aims to map out a 3-dimensional image of the internal structure of visible matter. Dr. Pitonyak鈥檚 team writes code in Python to compute high-energy particle collisions and analyze how models fit experimental data. This enables them to extract information on elementary particles,听quarks听and gluons, that make up objects like听the听proton. The grant will support LVC students through summer research stipends and fund travel to national conferences. In addition, students will be able to work closely with Dr. Pitonyak鈥檚 collaborators at other universities and national labs.听听

鈥淚 am grateful for the continued support of the National Science Foundation for student-faculty research in theoretical nuclear physics at LVC,鈥� said Dr. Pitonyak.听鈥淭his grant award is a testament to the sustained, high-quality physics research program we have at听The Valley, driven by听very talented听students听who听co-author peer-reviewed publications and give presentations at national conferences. I look forward to continuing to provide these high-impact experiences for our students that help set them apart for the next step in their careers.鈥�听

Dr. Pitonyak is also part of a team of scientists awarded a听$1.95 million grant from the听U.S. Department of Energy.听The听 grant, now entering its final year, supports a group of researchers听from universities and national labs听who are part of the SURGE (SatURatedGluE) Topical Theory Collaboration听that听is听studying the impact of gluons on the structure of the proton.听

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About Dr. Pitonyak听听

Dr. Pitonyak graduated from 麻豆破解 with a double major in Physics and听Mathematics听before earning his Ph.D. at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa听in 2013.听His dissertation, 鈥淓xploring the Structure of Hadrons through Spin Asymmetries in Hard Scattering Processes,鈥� received the 2015 Dissertation Award from the Group on Hadronic Physics of the American Physical Society. He then worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the RIKEN BNL Research Center at Brookhaven National Lab in Upton, N.Y., Penn State University Berks in Reading,听Pa., and Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.听In 2024, he was selected for LVC鈥檚 Thomas Rhys Vickroy Award for Excellence in Teaching, the College鈥檚 top honor for full-time faculty.听He also received the听2026 American Physical Society Prize for a Faculty Member for Research in an Undergraduate Institution听for his significant contributions to physics and the professional development of undergraduate physics students听

Dr. Pitonyak has over听45听research publications in听top听peer-reviewed journals, including听Physical听Review Letters, the听Journal of High-Energy Physics,听Physical Review D, and听Physics Letters B, which have accumulated over 4,000 citations.听In the past three years, Dr. Pitonyak has presented talks (invited, prize, and plenary) in Denver, Colo.; Anaheim, Calif; Seattle Wash.; Paphos, Cyprus; Pavia, Italy;听and Orsay, France.听His academic听expertise听includes atomic and nuclear physics, elementary particle physics, analytical mechanics, electricity and magnetism,听computational physics,听and quantum mechanics.听听