Michael Smutko had his eyes on the stars, and now he has his hands on $250 for winning Phi Beta Kappa's award for outstanding University Scholars thesis project.

Phi Beta Kappa, an honor society for arts and sciences, gave its first award last semester. "It's an award we set up this year to recognize scholarship and reward the University Scholars Thesis Proposal," said Martha Kolln, president of the University's chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Members of the Lambda chapter of Phi Beta Kappa established the $250 award for seniors submitting their senior thesis. All University scholars have to write a 50 to 100 page thesis on a topic of their choice, Kolln said. "We set it up this year in order to let people know that scholarship is important," she said.

A double major in astronomy and physics, Smutko has earned a 3.83 grade-point average. "I was always interested in the stars," he said, "and it can be fun sometimes. If you like what you're doing, then it doesn't seem like work."

While Smutko said studying keeps him off the streets, he said, "I wouldn't say it's to an excess."

"We had several other candidates, but the judging committee was impressed with the depth of his ideas," Kolln said about Smutko.

"There are many occasions where sports are rewarded, and so few occasions where scholarship and the academic side of life is praised and lauded, which is why we wanted to set this up," Kolln said.

Smutko submitted a proposal titled "Post-Flare Coronal Loop Interactions: New Observations of these Transient Solar Phenomena." He spent last summer at the National Solar Observatory at Sacramento Peak in New Mexico as a research assistant.

"It's a program to give undergrads a chance to do research," said Smutko, who got material for his project while assisting his adviser at the observatory. During his internship, Smutko looked through film which had been taken with automatic patrol telescopes. "Years later they pay someone like me to sit and look through the film," he said.

Observations Smutko made when working with this film gave him the idea for his project, he said. His proposal concerns a phenomenon scientifically called post-flare coronal loop interactions. In layman's terms, the solar flare is a giant explosion around the sun, said Smutko, who described the coronal loops as "giant loops or arches of fire coming off of the sun."

Besides his adviser, Smutko "is the only other one in the world to have seen this phenomenon. We hope to publish this in an astronomical journal."

As for the future, Smutko said, "That's a good question. I'll probably end up at a university. I'd like to teach, combined with research."

Smutko is a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Eta Sigma and Golden Key honor societies and is a University Scholar. He is not a member of Phi Beta Kappa, but it is not necessary to be a member of the group to win the award, said Kolln.