Fallen leaves and bare trees on Observatory Hill frame a view of the renovated Washburn Observatory at the University of Wisconsin-Madison during autumn.
The Letters & Science Honors Program has many tales of high student achievement. Daniel Lecoanet could be its poster child.
Lecoanet, a native of Madison, Wis., started doing research in mathematics and physics at the University as a high school sophomore. He is working on a dual major with honors in math and physics, and in spring 2010 he was named the UW-Madison’s first Churchill Scholar in 30 years, and only its third ever. He was set to study mathematics in the 2010-11 academic year at the University of Cambridge – home to Isaac Newton, among others – and he has applied to several doctoral programs to advance his studies upon his return to the United States.
“I am currently being supported by an award that L&S Honors gives out. That is very helpful, and I am grateful that this opportunity was made available to me.”
Daniel Lecoanet, L&S honors student
“I chose to do both Honors in the Liberal Arts and Honors in the Major,” Lecoanet said. “Honors in the Major is really about doing research. I have worked on several projects, and I’m heavily involved in my senior thesis with faculty advisor Ellen Zweibel in physics.” The first part of that thesis is slated for publication in The Astrophysical Journal.
“I believe the best thing you can do as an undergraduate is participate in research,” he said. “Doing research shows you the best of what UW-Madison has to offer. I am currently being supported by an award that L&S Honors gives out. That is very helpful, and I am grateful that this opportunity was made available to me.”
For more information
Letters & Science Honors: 50 Years of Raising the Bar
The Honors Program in the College of Letters & Science was created in April 1960 and it was launched in the fall semester of 1960. Fifty years later, the program is thriving, and its students are leaders on campus and in the community.
Letters & Science Honors: The Power of Giving
Private support has meant so much to the Honors Program and its students over the years. The L&S Honor program wouldn’t be what it is, and the students would not have as rich an experience, without that philanthropy.
