Ivan Agullo, assistant professor of physics at Louisiana State University (LSU), has received first place in an essay contest by the Gravity Research Foundation for his piece titled "Gravity and Handedness of Photons.” LSU Department of Physics & Astronomy Assistant Professor Ivan Agullo has received the first place award from the Gravity Research Foundation for his essay titled 'Gravity and Handedness of Photons.' Courtesy of LSU. Agullo co-authored the essay with Adrian del Rio and Jose Navarro-Salas at Spain's Universidad de Valencia. "This contest has become very prestigious among researchers working in the broad area of gravitation, and very top researchers compete every year," Agullo said. "Winning this competition has become a great international distinction." The Gravity Research Foundation, founded in 1949, works to promote scientific research on gravity and annually awards outstanding essays in the field of gravitational studies. Winners of past top essay awards include Nobel Laureates and famous physicists like Stephen Hawking, who won in 1971. The top five essays, including Agullo's, will be published in an issue of the International Journal of Modern Physics. He will also receive a $4,000 award. Agullo also received the foundation's top essay award in 2011 for his work, "Stimulated Creation of Quanta during Inflation and the Observable Universe." Agullo received his Ph.D. in 2009 at the Universidad de Valencia and has been an assistant professor of physics at LSU since August 2013. He specializes in quantum mechanics, quantum gravity and cosmology. He is the only researcher from LSU who has won this award and the first of Spanish nationality.