Index
Scholarships
The Qijia Fu '96 Memorial Scholarship Fund
The Qijia Fu ’96 Memorial Scholarship was established in memory of Qijia Fu, Class of 1996, by his family and friends. It is awarded to students demonstrating financial need, with preference given to students who study physics, who are dedicated to the pursuit of truths in science and who are modest, sincere and always ready to help others.
Qijia Fu was the third in his family to attend Hamilton—following siblings Peggy, Class of 1985, and Shelton, Class of 1991, to College Hill from their home in Beijing, China. A remarkable student, athlete and musician, Qijia chose to double major in mathematics and physics, capturing numerous prizes in both disciplines. He became the first Hamilton student to pursue two senior fellowship projects—one on neural networks in computers and a second on quantum theory. He graduated as class Salutatorian and was slated to begin a Ph.D. program in theoretical physics at Harvard in the fall of 1996. On a hiking trip with his brother, Shelton, and two friends in Utah’s Arches National Park that August, Qijia was struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm and died the follow day. Just two weeks prior, the physics paper he wrote for his senior fellowship project was chosen by the American Physical Society as one of the top five undergraduate papers nationwide.
Following his death, Qijia was fondly recalled by three of his former professors in a fall 1996 issue of the Alumni Review. He was highly regarded and beloved by his family, classmates and the Hamilton community.
February 2015
Please note: The named scholarships profiled on these pages are awarded as part of the College’s need-based financial aid packages. These funds help ensure the Hamilton Promise of keeping education affordable through meeting a student’s full demonstrated financial need.
Materials published here were diligently researched and written by students who strived for historical accuracy.
