Morgantown, WV — Members of the Mountaineer community gathered on Saturday for the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences Awards Ceremony, where students are honored for outstanding achievements during the recent academic year. Among the individuals recognized for their exceptional contributions were Jackson Taylor, a second-year graduate student in Physics and Astronomy, and Ayden Cook, an undergraduate senior in Physics and Astronomy.
The Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award is awarded to a student in each department who has earned financial support for their education by qualifying for appointment as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA). As GTAs, the students work closely with faculty in a variety of instructional assignments. Their fresh perspectives and dedication to their departments contributes much to the College’s mission.
Our 2025 Outstanding Physics Teaching Assistant, Jackson Taylor, is a native of Bloomington, Indiana and a graduate of Indiana University with Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics. As a member of Professor Emmanuel Fonseca’s research group, Jackson’s research surrounds the detection of asteroids around pulsars with binary companions, specifically ‘exotrojan’ asteroids that lead or trail a pulsar’s companion. Since joining our program in 2023, Jackson has served as a teaching assistant for ASTR 106L Descriptive Astronomy Laboratory and the WVU Planetarium and Observatory.
“This award is very deserved – Jackson been an outstanding TA in the WVU Planetarium and Observatory and for the ASTR 106 lab course. In addition to teaching the lab course, he assisted me in refining and developing the labs,” Professor Jason Ybarra wrote. “The students in the lab benefitted from his kindness, patience, and strong desire to provide the best possible educational experience.”
The Outstanding Senior Award recognizes the achievements of West Virginia University’s most distinguished graduating seniors. The program was established in 1995 by the WVU Foundation, Inc. to commemorate its 40th anniversary of service to West Virginia University. The students are selected by the faculty in their academic program on the basis of their grade point average and application responses.
Our 2025 Outstanding Senior is Ayden Cook of Oak Hill, West Virginia. Ayden will graduate in Spring 2025 with a double major in Physics and Mathematics and a minor in Philosophy. Following graduation, Ayden plans to return to WVU in the fall to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics. His hope is to emphasize computation and simulation in his future research within the Department.
Professor Weichao Tu, Ayden’s academic advisor, said: “Ayden consistently comes prepared with a clear academic plan and thoughtful questions. He has maintained a perfect GPA – quite an achievement, especially as a double major in Physics and Math.” Other faculty, including Professor Mikel Holcomb, shared that Ayden was extremely successful in key courses such as Advanced Physics Laboratory.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy sends our warmest congratulations to Jackson and Ayden on their accomplishments. We are so proud of their hard work and dedication!
