TEAM-UP Together is pleased to announce its 2025 cohort of scholars: 87 students who will each receive $10,000 for the 2025-2026 academic year. The scholarship program supports physics and astronomy majors with financial need, who demonstrated an ability to speak to the importance of improving access and opportunity for physics and astronomy undergraduate students, including those who face the starkest barriers.
“I believe every student deserves the chance to thrive, and the TEAM-UP Together scholarship is one tool to support student success,” said Jovonni Spinner, AIP’s Career Opportunity and Advancement Officer. “We want to make sure students can focus on their studies and pursue their dreams with one less worry holding them back. I am proud to support students on their academic journey.”
Established by the TEAM-UP Together lead partners and supported by donors, this program awards scholarships to physics and astronomy undergraduates with financial need. This year, $870,000 in total was awarded to TEAM-UP Together scholars.
“I applied [to this scholarship] because I believe it is a driving force in helping propel my aspirations in astronomy,” said Asaalah Muhammad, a physics and astronomy major at the University of Louisville. “It will serve as motivation to finish my undergraduate journey, no matter what adversity I face.”
Muhammad wants to pursue a career in astronomical data research and hopes that she can inspire others like her to achieve their dreams.
The TEAM-UP Together scholars will also receive mentoring through the APS National Mentoring Community program, professional development training, and career building and networking opportunities, and gain a sense of belonging and community through student engagement activities in the TEAM-UP Together program.
Since the program’s inception in 2020, TEAM-UP Together has awarded more than $2.5 million toward 252 scholarships, with the number of students supported in each cohort growing yearly. This year’s 87 scholars comprises both new and returning students who will each receive the $10,000 scholarship.
“I applied to TEAM-UP Together Scholarship because [the program] has created a community where students facing similar societal and academic barriers can connect, share experiences, and persevere together,” said returning scholar Richmond Boahene.
Boahene is a physics major at Gustavus Adolphus College. He is interested in studying the integration of quantum information science with machine learning and computational methods.
“This scholarship [will] allow me to remain within my student employment limits without losing access to on-campus work,” Boahene said. “With this stability, I can fully commit to my studies and continue building tech skills in data science and machine learning as a physics student.”
TEAM-UP Together is a collective action initiative led by the American Association of Physics Teachers, American Astronomical Society, American Institute of Physics, American Physical Society, and Society of Physics Students that aims to catalyze structural and cultural change in physics and astronomy to significantly improve graduation outcomes for undergraduates who face the starkest barriers to success in these fields, including a focus on African American students.
AIP Foundation raises funds for TEAM-UP Together, which is 100% funded by private philanthropy. TEAM-UP Together and AIP Foundation are grateful for major donations from the Simons Foundation/Simons Foundation International, Heising-Simons Foundation, Heineman Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, the AIP Board of Directors, Deborah C. Brittain, Corning Foundation, Dr. James H. and Alberta Stith, Laura Rowe, and others in support of TEAM-UP Together’s mission.