Peter Shawhan has received the 2016 Richard A. Ferrell Distinguished Faculty Fellowship, which recognizes outstanding personal effort and expertise in physics as well as dedicated service to the UMD Department of Physics. The Fellowship, established in 2001, honors Dr. Richard A. Ferrell, a deeply-respected physicist who joined the University in 1953, served 40 years, and remained active in the department even after his retirement. Dr. Ferrell died in 2005 at his nearby University Park home.

Shawhan is an Associate Professor researching gravitational waves, astrophysics and time-domain astronomy. He is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration and of the UMD Joint Space Science Institute and Center for Experimental Fundamental Physics.