Four win Goldwater Scholarships
"Colleges can nominate a maximum of four students for the awards," said Jane Martindell, Kenyon's dean for academic advising. "It's an extraordinary accomplishment, matched by very few institutions this year, for all of a college's four nominees to be named Goldwater Scholars."
Joel Beckett, a junior biochemistry major, is currently working with Assistant Professor of Chemistry John Hoefferberth to research the syntheses of naturally occurring chemicals used in insect communication. He presented a paper this year at the conference of the American Chemical Society. He plans to earn an MD/PhD degree in medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology.
Priscilla Erickson, a sophomore molecular biology major, conducts research with biology professors Robert Mauck and Mark Haussman into the role of telomeres in the longevity of the storm petrel. Her plans for the future include obtaining a PhD in biomedical sciences and conducting research to improve the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of human diseases.
Maxim Lavrentovich, a junior who is double majoring in physics and mathematics, has been researching a new method for solving partial differential equations on random grids. He hopes to apply this method to physical models of biological systems at the molecular level and plans to pursue a PhD in biophysics.
William Stanton, a junior mathematics major and physics minor, plans to obtain a PhD in mathematics. As a summer science scholar in 2006, he collaborated with Associate Professor of Mathematics Judy Holdener on researching perfect numbers and the abundancy index, and he presented a paper at the summer meeting of the Mathematical Association of America.
The four Kenyon winners take their place among 317 scholars selected this year from a field of 1,110 applicants. Established by Congress in 1986, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation provides educational scholarships to American undergraduate students with excellent academic records and outstanding potential. The purpose of the foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers.