APS Honoree Brandon Turned Named Rhodes Scholar
Bushraa KhatibAPS Physics
When Brandon Turner graduated from high school, his stepfather, Casey,
used to jokingly call him a “renaissance man” because of his diverse
interests within and outside of academia. He told Turner that the Rhodes
scholarship was perfectly suited for such a person.
Now, poised to graduate from Wake Forest University in May with a
bachelor’s degree in biophysics and minors in chemistry and sociology,
Turner is one of 32 Americans awarded the prestigious Rhodes scholarship
for 2012.
Selected from a pool of 830 candidates, scholars anticipate beginning
their studies at Oxford in October 2012. The award covers all expenses
for two to four years of study. In a press release, American Secretary
of the Rhodes Trust Elliot Gerson called the Rhodes Scholarships
“arguably the most famous academic award available to American college
graduates.”
“When I heard the announcement, I was lost for words,” Turner said. “My stepdad is over the moon about it.”
This isn’t Turner’s first time receiving recognition for academic
success. He received the 2010-2011 APS Scholarship for Minority
Undergraduate Physics Majors, which provides funding and mentoring to
underrepresented minorities pursuing degrees in physics. Past scholars
have gone on to earn PhDs in physics, work as university faculty
members, research scientists, and high school physics teachers. Turner
also attends Wake Forest on a full, merit-based Reynolds scholarship.
Turner hadn’t always planned on majoring in physics. When he was
younger, he thought that he would become a biologist. Everything changed
when he took and fell in love with AP Physics as a senior in high
school. He liked that physics combined mathematical rigor with the
ability to explain the world–something that he appreciated and enjoyed
about other sciences.
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