{"id":556702,"date":"2023-04-21T12:06:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-21T16:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=556702"},"modified":"2026-04-02T09:37:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T13:37:48","slug":"rochester-sets-institutional-record-with-four-goldwater-scholars-556702","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/rochester-sets-institutional-record-with-four-goldwater-scholars-556702\/","title":{"rendered":"Rochester sets institutional record with four Goldwater Scholars"},"content":{"rendered":"

Winners of the prestigious national award pursue research careers in science, mathematics, and engineering.<\/h2>\n

Four Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a> students\u2014Derek Chien \u201925, Kathleen (Katie) Hall \u201924, Margaret (Maggie) Scholer \u201924, and Hope Silva \u201924\u2014have been selected as Barry Goldwater Scholars, marking the first time Rochester has had four recipients in a single year.<\/p>\n

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program<\/a> was established by Congress in 1986 in honor of the former US senator and presidential candidate. Its goal is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to students who intend to pursue careers in these fields.<\/p>\n

Each scholar receives up to $7,500 to help cover tuition, room and board, books, and mandatory fees. Scholars who receive the award as sophomores receive support for a maximum of two years, while juniors receive support for one year.<\/p>\n

Institutions are typically allowed to nominate only four students, notes Belinda Redden, director of fellowships<\/a> at Rochester. An additional nominee is allowed only if the nominee arrived at an institution as a transfer student. The four recipients were among 413 students chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors across the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is wonderful to see the continuity in the depth of our student-researcher talent pool in STEM fields,\u201d Redden says. \u201cThe type of student who would be competitive for the Goldwater is not only academically excellent but also highly engaged in pursuits such as research, peer teaching and mentoring, club and organizational leadership, service activities, and other extracurriculars such as athletics and the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redden says that, over the past 24 years, 46 Rochester undergraduates have been named Goldwater Scholars\u2014and there has been only one year during this period when no Rochester students were selected.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely proud of this year\u2019s quartet of scholars for this recognition of their excellence and promise as research scientists who are passionately committed to lending their talents to solve urgent problems facing humanity and the planet,\u201d Redden says. \u201cI get to see the competition results shortly before the announcement is public, and it was thrilling to see \u2018scholar\u2019 four times on our list of nominees.\u201d<\/p>\n


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