National Football Foundation

With a double major in nuclear engineering and physics, it’s hard to imagine that MIT’s Ethan Peterson has time for an all-conference career on the gridiron. As the anchor of the Engineers’ offensive line, he becomes the school’s sixth NFF National Scholar-Athlete.

A 2011 CoSIDA Academic All-American and two-time Academic All-New England Football Conference selection, Peterson was the recipient of the Irving Kaplan Award for outstanding academic achievement by a junior in MIT Nuclear Science. The Rutland, Vt., native was inducted into the Alpha Nu Sigma and National Society of Collegiate Scholars honoraries. Peterson also boasts a minor in French.

Peterson is a two-year team captain who has not missed a game in his collegiate career. He was also a First Team All-NEFC performer in 2011 and a Second Team selection as a sophomore. Last season, Peterson led an offensive unit that produced the NEFC Offensive Rookie of the Year at running back and increased its total output by 30 percent from his sophomore campaign. In 2012, he has helped the Engineers’ offense average 395.4 yards per game.

A research assistant at the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Peterson has performed various forms of ion beam analysis to determine real-time erosion effects of plasmas on materials, and he has conducted numerous other impressive experiments. He has also found time to serve as treasurer of Delta Kappa Epsilon and volunteer for the Massachusetts Special Olympics and the Boston Medical Center. He is a member of the MIT ice hockey club team, leading the Engineers to a pair of conference championships.

Peterson is currently a graduate research assistant and doctorate candidate in the plasma physics program at the University of Wisconsin.