Senior Erin Hayes Named Gates Cambridge Scholar

Senior Erin Hayes has been awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in astronomy at the University of Cambridge in England.

From Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, Hayes is a Roy and Diana Vagelos Scholar in the Molecular Life Sciences majoring in astrophysics, with a minor in math. She is submatriculating to also receive her master’s degree in physics in May.

Hayes is one of 23 Gates Cambridge Scholars chosen this year from the United States. About 60 recipients worldwide will be chosen and announced by April. The scholarship covers the full cost of studying at Cambridge for as long as four years, as well as additional discretionary funding.

At Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy, Hayes plans to “study supernovae in the near infrared as a probe of the accelerated expansion of the universe” and continue her efforts to “increase the involvement of women and underrepresented groups in physics through mentorship and advocacy,” she wrote in a statement.

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