Hannah Herde, a senior physics and classical civilizations major from New Canaan, has been awarded a Jerome A. Schiff Fellowship for her senior thesis research at Wellesley College. Funded by the Jerome A Schiff Charitable Trust, Schiff Fellowships provide $2,000 grants to a select group of students annually to assist them in their fields of research. Herde is one of 17 students to receive the award this year.
Herde’s thesis, Modeling Atmospheres: Ultraviolet Light Absorption by Sulfur Dioxide and Diatomic Sulfur, is research on basic properties of molecules in order to determine the properties of the atmosphere.
“Science is not something people can do in their basement anymore,” Herde said. “It requires that we talk to each other and learn to communicate. To take my education at Wellesley out into this global collaboration has been an amazing experience, and I’d like to thank Wellesley and the Schiff Fellowship for giving me the opportunity to do that.”
The Schiff Fellowships are granted on the basis of merit to students pursuing advanced study through Wellesley’s senior honors program. Applications are also evaluated based on the feasibility of the research project and its promise for providing a meaningful and productive intellectual experience. Grants may be used to support scholarly work related to an honors thesis in a student’s major field. Award recipients are selected by Wellesley’s Committee on Curriculum and Academic Policy, with representatives from the Office of the Provost and Dean of the College, the Office of the Dean of Students and members of the faculty.
Hannah Herde of New Canaan is a senior physics and classical civilizations major at Wellesley College.