CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – David Balut, a senior majoring in physics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is among 16 students nationwide to receive a Churchill Scholarship for study at Cambridge University in England. The highly competitive scholarship was last awarded to an Illinois student in 2005.
The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States awards the prestigious scholarship to American undergraduate students planning to pursue graduate studies in science, mathematics or engineering at Cambridge’s Churchill College. The foundation selects students based on their academic record, capacity for original and independent work, character and adaptability, and demonstrated leadership and concern for the critical problems of society. Valued at approximately $100,000, the scholarship covers the cost of tuition, fees and living expenses at Cambridge.
Balut, who is from Arlington Heights, Ill., will pursue his master of philosophy in physics with a focus on the collective behavior of electron spin in strongly interacting matter. He plans to work with Trinity College Fellow Professor Claudio Castelnovo in the theory of condensed matter group.
His ultimate goal is to pursue a doctorate in physics, bridging experimental and theoretical approaches in condensed matter physics research with a focus on strongly interacting matter, such as the strange metal problem.
“I’m super excited to have this opportunity to do a year with just straight research,” Balut said. “For the past four years, I’ve had to balance my studies in class with research. Being able to build confidence as a researcher will help me become a successful Ph.D. student.”
At Illinois, he works in physics professor Peter Abbamonte’s research group, where he led an experiment on inelastic X-ray scattering at Argonne National Laboratory. He also led a project studying how inelastic scattering could measure entanglement in materials, which involved collaborating with U. of I. physics professors Barry Bradlyn and Philip Phillips. This led to Balut working with physics professor Thomas Faulkner to study how modified black hole theories applied to materials.
Balut spent time at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, measuring altermagnetic-lattice modes for the first time in a material. In 2025, he received a Barry Goldwater Scholarship and was named an Astronaut Scholar.
Outside of the classroom, he volunteers at a St. Vincent de Paul food pantry, has been a peer tutor in The Grainger College of Engineering and has been active in organizations encouraging students to register and vote in general elections.
“While Illinois students have earned more Churchill Scholarships than any other public university, it has been 20 years since our last recipient. David Balut has ended this drought amongst the largest applicant pool ever,” said David Schug, the director of the National and International Scholarships Program.
“Select institutions are limited to nominate up to two students for the award, and a record 159 students were nominated by their institutions, of which only 16 were selected from across the country,” Schug said.
Editor’s note:
For more information, contact David Schug, National and International Scholarships Program director, 217-333-4710; topscholars@illinois.edu.
