{"id":14311,"date":"2015-11-20T11:25:35","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T16:25:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.cos.ucf.edu\/?p=14311"},"modified":"2016-12-01T12:33:49","modified_gmt":"2016-12-01T17:33:49","slug":"cos-rhodes-schrship-finalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/cos-rhodes-schrship-finalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Rhodes Scholarship Finalist"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/11\/Rhodes-Scholar-Finalist-e1448036285754.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-14312\" src=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2015\/11\/Rhodes-Scholar-Finalist-e1448036285754.jpg\" alt=\"Rhodes Scholar Finalist\" width=\"250\" height=\"204\" \/><\/a>UCF College of Sciences senior, and\u00a0double major in mathematics and physics, John Vastola has been selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. This is the oldest and one of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world. The Rhodes Scholarship provides the selected scholars with fully funded graduate study at Oxford University.<\/p>\n<p>Vastola is one of about 18 candidates from Florida, Alabama and Louisiana who will attend the district interview on Saturday, Nov. 21, in Birmingham, Ala. Two district candidates will be chosen for the award to join 30 others from districts around the country.<\/p>\n<p>Simply being named a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship is a massive honor. And Vastola is more than worthy of it as he has a long and impressive academic resume.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Rhodes represents an opportunity to engage with the world in a way that I never really have before,\u201d Vastola said. \u201cThe opportunity means a lot to me, and a lot to my family, and I hope I will be able to make everyone proud.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn Vastola is one of the smartest young people I have met,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/physics.cos.ucf.edu\/people\/klemm-richard\/\">Richard Klemm, Ph.D<\/a>., Vastola\u2019s advisor.\u00a0\u201cHe instantly picks up on things he hasn\u2019t encountered before.\u00a0He is now my learning assistant for my undergraduate quantum mechanics class, and has been excellent as a teacher.\u00a0He was also the president of the math student\u2019s organization last year, and this year is the president of the physics student\u2019s society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>UCF\u2019s only Rhodes Scholar to date, Tyler Fisher, was awarded the scholarship in 2002. It enabled him to earn a master\u2019s in European literature at the university.<\/p>\n<p>Vastola is pursuing a double major in mathematics and physics with the goal of becoming a mathematical physicist. He hopes to use his studies to improve the global community and bring important issues to the forefront of the public\u2019s consciousness.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to be a scientist, but I want to be a scientist that engages with the world and the public about science,\u201d he said. \u201cMany important issues facing the world today\u2014climate change, clean energy, developing and refining the advanced technologies that drive the modern world\u2014require scientific expertise and consultation, and I feel that\u00a0too often, especially in mathematics and the physical sciences, scientists are content to isolate themselves from society and solely focus on their work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vastola\u2019s passion for his chosen subjects has driven him to excel as an undergraduate student. He has a cumulative GPA of 3.95 and has taken 12 graduate courses in his fields, all of which are considered to be the most challenging graduate courses offered at UCF, including Quantum Field Theory I and II as well as functional analysis and topology.<\/p>\n<p>Currently, Vastola is working on his Honors in the Major thesis in physics with Klemm. This program requires students to complete and defend a thesis based on a student\u2019s original research on a problem.\u00a0 Vastola\u2019s chosen thesis is on a quantum field theory problem\u00a0that would normally be considered a doctoral dissertation topic, but his advisor said he is confident that Vastola will be able to succeed at this advanced level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJohn\u2019s pursuit of academic excellence and his quest for new knowledge exemplifies that which we seek in our best and brightest students,\u201d said Alvin Wang, dean of The Burnett Honors College.\u00a0\u201cJohn is a great example of what honors students can accomplish when given the opportunity to showcase their talents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Beyond honing his academic prowess, Vastola also finds time to be an active leader in the community. During the two summers he spent researching at Vanderbilt University through the ICubed fellowship, he also worked with artists to convey science research through art that can be understood by the general public. Vastola helped revive the Math Club at UCF, and he serves as the president of the Society of Physics Students and Pi Mu Epsilon chapter,an honorary mathematics society.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are thrilled to see John selected as a finalist by the Rhodes Scholarship Committee,\u201d said Morgan Bauer, director of The Office of Prestigious Awards at UCF. \u201cThis is one of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world and this recognition is further proof of the caliber of students being produced at UCF.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Vastola is interested in studying quantum field theory, gauge theories, the mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics, and differential geometry through the Oxford master course in mathematical and theoretical physics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRegardless of what happens, I am incredibly grateful to have been selected,\u201d Vastola said.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>To read original story on UCF Today, <a href=\"http:\/\/today.ucf.edu\/burnett-honors-college-student-chosen-as-finalist-for-rhodes-scholarship\/\">click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UCF College of Sciences senior, and\u00a0double major in mathematics and physics, John Vastola has been selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. This is the oldest and one of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world. The Rhodes Scholarship provides the selected scholars with fully funded graduate study at Oxford University. Vastola is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14312,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[38,39,12,13,14,28,29,30],"tags":[1057,1829,2603,2868,3584,3608],"class_list":["post-14311","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-faculty-news","category-mathematics","category-news","category-physics-departments","category-top-news","category-ucf-news","category-undergraduate-student-news","tag-dr-richard-klemm","tag-john-vastola","tag-oxford-university","tag-rhodes-scholar-finalist","tag-ucf-math","tag-ucf-physics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rhodes Scholarship Finalist - College of Sciences News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/cos-rhodes-schrship-finalist\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rhodes Scholarship Finalist - College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"UCF College of Sciences senior, and\u00a0double major in mathematics and physics, John Vastola has been selected as a finalist for the Rhodes Scholarship. This is the oldest and one of the most prestigious academic scholarships in the world. The Rhodes Scholarship provides the selected scholars with fully funded graduate study at Oxford University. 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