The Guy Stevenson Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies
Fall 2025 Recipient: Clayton Robertson, PhD in Physics and Astronomy
The Guy Stevenson Award for Excellence in Graduate Studies honors a former dean of the Graduate School and is presented to an outstanding doctoral degree recipient who has demonstrated excellence in both scholarship and leadership within the discipline and has made significant contributions to teaching and/or service. Idoia Meaza Isusi is the recipient of this year’s Stevenson award and, as such, serves as the Graduate School’s outstanding student, carries our banner for the Hooding and Commencement ceremonies, and delivers the student speech for the Hooding ceremony.
Clayton entered the PhD program in Physics in 2020 and joined the research group of Prof. Benne Holwerda to pursue observational astronomy. His dissertation focused on the attenuation of light by interstellar dust in overlapping (occulting) galaxy pairs, and he successfully defended it in summer 2025.
A Kentucky native, Clayton earned dual BS degrees in Physics and Mathematics from the University of Louisville in 2020. As an undergraduate, he received multiple distinctions from both departments, including the Bennet Award for the best graduating senior in physics (2020), the Drautman Award for the best sophomore in physics (2019), and the Robet J. Bickel Award for achievements in mathematics (2018, 2020). He was also inducted into the Sigma Pi Sigma Honor Society.
Clayton has established an impressive research record. He has published 16 peer-reviewed research articles, including three as first author, and is a member of the large multi-institutional Prime Extragalactic Areas of Reionization and Lensing Science (PEARLS) collaboration, which utilizes the James Webb Space Telescope.
In addition to his research, Clayton has shown a strong commitment to teaching and mentorship. He supervised three undergraduate students through the A&S initiative on the Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative (MURC) grant and the NSF/OAKS grant, respectively. The latter offered research opportunities for undergraduates across Kentucky. His leadership activities included representing the Department of Physics and Astronomy in the Graduate Student Council (2023-24). He also served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant for physics laboratory courses and is a certified CRLA Level 3 Master Tutor for calculus-based and non-calculus-based physics courses, as well as mathematics courses through Differential Equations.
Looking ahead, Clayton plans to apply for the highly prestigious Hubble Postdoctoral Fellowship. If successful, he would be the first Hubble Postdoctoral Fellow from the University of Louisville – a distinction that would bring great honor to our institution. Given current uncertainties in federal research funding, he is also considering opportunities in industry.