Christopher Watson (MSc from Delft University of Technology) and Jelmer Wagenaar (MSc from Leiden University), two 2013 graduates of the Casimir Pre-PhD track, have been awarded with the prestigious Shell Young Talent Graduation Prize for Physics. On Friday the 29^th of November they will receive their prizes, a sum of € 5,000.- for each, during the award ceremony at the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW) in Haarlem.

Both Casimir alumni now hold a PhD position: Christopher works at Stanford University, where he also carried out one of the rotations that are part of the Casimir Pre-PhD program. Jelmer is conducting his PhD research at Leiden University based on the proposal that he wrote last summer to conclude his master’s program. This is the second time that Casimir students have been successful in the competition judged by the KHMW. In 2011, the Shell Young Talent Graduation Prize was awarded to Tim Baart, who was the first student to complete the Casimir Pre-PhD track.   

Christopher Watson	Jelmer Wagenaar