Townes Graduate Student Fellowship

The Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship was established in 2005 in order to help support doctoral students at the Graduate Theological Union working in theology and science. The Townes Fellowship offers modest financial support for GTU doctoral students pursuing research in theology and science. It is now an endowed program at the GTU.

The Fellowship was renamed the Charles H. Townes Graduate Student Fellowship on September 16, 2006, in recognition of Dr. Townes' work with physics graduate students at UC Berkeley and for his generous and longstanding support of CTNS. Dr. Townes won the 1964 Nobel Laureate in Physics for his role in the discovery of the maser and laser. He was University Professor and Professor of Physics in the Graduate School at UC Berkeley until his death in 2015. In 2005 he won the Templeton Prize. Dr. Townes served on the CTNS Board of Directors for over two decades, served on the Advisory Board of the CTNS Program, Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series (STARS), and he was a participating scientist in the CTNS Program, Science and the Spiritual Quest (SSQ).

Applicants need to have passed their Department comprehensive exams. The awards are given on the basis of merit: students must clearly demonstrate the ability to do promising research on issues of theology and science. 

Fellowship Award Winners

  • 2019-2020: Myoung-ho Sin
  • 2018-2019: Hannah Pheasant and Andrew Younan
  • 2017-2108: Levi Checketts and Seung Hyun Yoo
  • 2016-2017: Jamie Fowler and KyungRae Kim
  • 2014-2015: Ki Wook Min 
  • 2013-2014: Daekyung Jung and Mariusz Tabaczek, O.P.
  • 2012-2013: John King, Sungho Lee and Alan Weissenbacher 
  • 2009-2010: Brian Green and Adam Pryor
  • 2008-2009: Junghyung Kim
  • 2007-2008: Braden Molhoek and Oliver Putz
  • 2006-2007: Whitney Bauman and Joshua Moritz
  • 2005-2006: Gaymon Bennett and James Haag
  • 2004-2005: Nathan Hallanger and Nancy Wiens