Four UMass Amherst Undergraduates Win Goldwater Scholarship

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Four Commonwealth Honors College students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have been awarded the Barry Goldwater Scholarship for their outstanding research and achievements in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is a highly competitive, nationally-recognized award for sophomore and junior students pursuing research careers in the STEM fields.

The UMass Amherst Goldwater Scholarship recipients are:

Caleb Carr ’20, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Computer Science
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Computational Biology

Kenneth Lin ’20, Astronomy, Physics
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Physics

Kwan Yoon ’20, Chemical Engineering
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Biomolecular Engineering

Zoe Kearney ’20, Astronomy, Physics
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Astrophysics

Students were nominated by the Office of National Scholarship Advisement (ONSA), which advises, supports and selects students for the national competition. ONSA staff works with students to apply for competitive national fellowships and scholarships, such as the Goldwater, Fulbright and Churchill, among others.

“Each participating university nominates its top four STEM students for this scholarship,” said Madalina Akli, director of the Office of National Scholarship Advisement. “I am most proud that all four UMass Amherst nominees this year were awarded the Goldwater, which is exceptional. They are incredibly intelligent and motivated young people. But, more importantly, they have a strong desire to make sure their research benefits the lives of others.”

The Goldwater Foundation reports that 1,223 natural science, engineering and mathematics students were nominated by 443 academic institutions to compete for the 2019 Goldwater scholarships.