Incoming PTYS graduate student Sarah Sutton is the recipient of a University Fellows Award from the Graduate Center at the University of Arizona. The University Fellows award is a prestigious fellowship offered to the University of Arizona's top incoming graduate students.

PTYS alumnus Dr. Guy Consolmagno, S.J. (1978) has been appointed Director of the Vatican Observatory by Pope Francis. Brother Guy had previously been serving as Curator of the Vatican Meteorite Collection. Last year, he received the 2014 Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science from the Division for Planetary Sciences (DPS)  of the American Astronomical Society.

Ethan Schaefer is the recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant Award for Spring 2015. Ethan earned the award for his work as a GTA with Professor Joe Giacalone in the PTYS/ASTR 206 class, which is a General Education Natural Sciences Tier II  course. He is a fifth-year graduate student working with Professor Alfred McEwen.