First-year graduate student Tad Komacek was named the recipient of the 2013 Carson Fellowship Award, which provides one academic year of support, including salary, tuition, and a small supply/travel stipend. Tad is currently working on modeling the effects of ohmic dissipation in hot Jupiter atmospheres, being advised by Dr. Tamara Rogers and collaborating with Dr. Adam Showman.

The Lt. Col. Kenneth Rondo Carson and Virginia Bryan Carson Graduate Fellowship is an endowment established by the estate of Virginia B. Carson, honoring her husband, a former member of the "Flying Tigers," a former member of the Joint Strategic Target Planning Staff Strategic Air Command, retired master navigator and enthusiast of space exploration. Colonel Carson greatly admired the professionalism and accomplishments of NASA's space program. The Carson Fellowship is awarded to students pursuing degrees in the Department of Planetary Sciences, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, selected on the basis of academic achievement and the promise of further scholarly endeavor.