(March 29, 2022) Two Oregon State University undergraduate students have been named 2022 Goldwater Scholars by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

Gretchen Fujimura

Field of Study: Life Sciences

Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Honors with minors in Chemistry and Nutrition

Year: Junior

Career Goal: MD/PhD in Immunology with a focus on Virology and Biochemistry. Gretchen aspires to lead a research team developing vaccines and carrying out clinical trials at organizations such as the NIH or the CDC.

Mentors: Elisar Barbar, Zhen Yu, Andy Karplus

Xavier Tacker

Field of Study: Life Sciences

Majors: Pre-Forestry and Bioresource Research with a minor in Chemistry

Year: Sophomore

Career Goal: Ph.D. in Plant Biology and Bioengineering. Xavier plans to work in academia conducting translational research on genetic improvement of forest trees to help forests cope with the impacts of climate change.

Mentors: Steven H. Strauss, Ryan Mueller, Fiona Tomas Nash

The OSU nomination committee includes faculty from the Colleges of Science and Engineering: Dr. Skip Rochefort and Dr. Kelsey Stoerzinger from Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering; Dr. Kevin Gable from Chemistry; Dr. Kari Van Zee and Dr. David Hendrix  from Biochemistry and Biophysics; and Dr. Heidi Schellman from Physics. Student advising and nominations were coordinated by LeAnn Adam, OSU Director for National and Global Scholarships Advising, and Graduate Assistant Ashley Weibel.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate.  

From an estimated pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, 1242 natural science, engineering and mathematics students were nominated by 433 academic institutions to compete for the 2022 Goldwater scholarships. Of students who reported, 175 of the Scholars are men, 234 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree objective. Forty-five Scholars are mathematics and computer science majors, 308 are majoring in the natural sciences, and 64 are majoring in engineering. Many of the Scholars have published their research in leading professional journals and have presented their work at professional society conferences.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on November 14, 1986. 

For further information, contact OSU Goldwater Campus Representative LeAnn Adam at (541) 737-1996 [email protected] or visit https://topscholars.oregonstate.edu/

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