Graduate student Geoffrey Patterson has been awarded the Robert and Doris Pulley Award in Mathematics from ARCS.

ARCS (Achievement Rewards for College Scientists) is a national non-profit organization that boosts U.S. competitiveness by raising funds to support promising U.S. citizens in doctoral programs in the sciences, engineering, and medicine).

In a collaborative project with the Institute for Astronomy, Geoff uses geometric control theory to identify optimum trajectories that would allow spacecraft to intercept temporarily captured objects — asteroids and the like caught in Earth orbit for a short time.