NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Two Vanderbilt undergraduates have won prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships.
Kristin L. Glab, a junior from Prior Lake, Minn., and Jacob J. Hughey, a junior from Manhattan, Kan., were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,081 mathematics, science and engineering students nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The scholarship covers the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
Glab is a chemistry major and her career goal is to teach at a research university and to study the fundamental properties of organic materials for electronic applications. She currently studies liquid crystals in the lab of Associate Professor of Chemistry Piotr Kaszynski and computational modeling with Assistant Professor of Chemistry Jens Meiler. Last summer she worked on natural products synthesis at the University of Minnesota with Associate Professor Craig Forsyth. As a team leader for Vanderbilt Student Volunteers for Science, she leads other Vanderbilt science students in presenting hands-on science activities to elementary and middle school students in the Nashville area.
Hughey is a double major in biomedical engineering and mathematics. His career goal is to explore the use of microelectronic mechanical systems and microfluidics to understand biological problems. Since his sophomore year, he has been working at the Vanderbilt Institute for Integrative Biosystems Research and Education under the direction of the Gordon A. Caine University Professor John P. Wikswo. He will be spending this summer in Germany at the University of Freiburg‘s Department of Microsystems Engineering doing research with German doctoral students as part of the Research Internships in Science and Engineering program funded by the German Academic Exchange Program (Deutscher Akaemischer Austausch Dienst.)
The Goldwater Foundation awarded 323 scholarships for the 2006-2007 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from the United States. In its 18-year history the foundation has awarded 4,885 scholarships worth approximately $48 million.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Barry M. Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate. The purpose of the foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields.
Contact: David F. Salisbury, (615) 343-6803
david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu