Brian Hanson was born November 27, 1974. He graduated from Center High School in Center, Texas, in 1993. His college career began with a scholarship from SFA where he enrolled as a dual degree physics/engineering major in 1993. On May 17, 1997, he graduated with a degree in physics from SFA. He won the highest ranking senior award because he had a perfect 4.0 GPA. (In fact Brian made a 4.0 in all educational programs he ever attended.)

After receiving his BS from SFA he began working on his MS in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Science at the University of Michigan. He received a Department of Energy Fellowship for Nuclear Energy/Health Physics in 1997. In May of 1998 he was awarded the Robert Gardner Memorial Fellowship for 1998-99 for graduate studies in Health Physics from the Health Physics Society. In the summer of 1998 he worked on a summer practicum on radiological dosimetry at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. 

He died in a tragic automobile accident on August 30, 1998. In December 1998 he was awarded posthumously the MS in Radiological Health Physics and Science Engineering-Nuclear from the University of Michigan. 

Brian challenged his teachers. He expected our best as teachers because he expected the best from himself as a student. Brian challenged his fellow students to work to their fullest potential. He is one of SFA’s finest physics graduates, and the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Stephen F. Austin State University is deeply saddened by his death. To honor his memory we have established Brian Patrick Hanson Memorial Scholarship. 

This scholarship is awarded each spring at the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma Induction Banquet. The amount is $1000.

Eligibility:
The winner must be a physics major or dual degree physics/engineering major and must be registered for PHY 242 or have credit for PHY 242 and must not have completed any advanced level physics course.

Selection Criteria:
Overall Grade Point Average Physics Grade Point Average Progress in the physics major program There is no application for this scholarship. The faculty apply the selection criteria to the eligible students in our program and determine the recipient.

Previous Recipients:
1999 – Michael Craig Welch
2000 – John Michael Stirman
2001 – Dayna Renea Newman
2002 – Brett Allen Burnett
2005 – Sarah Pew
2006 – Mark Mason
2008 – Ken Allen Lambdin
2009 – Katie Lynch
2011 – Thomas Frenzel
2012 – Julianna Calkins
2013 – Zachary G. Williams