Three students win Goldwater Scholarship

Last week, three lucky Penn students found out that they were among this year's prestigious group of 309 Goldwater Scholars.

The scholarship is awarded annually by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which was established in 1988 to pay tribute to Goldwater, a former presidential candidate who spent 30 years as a U.S. Senator.

The scholarship is awarded to college sophomores and juniors with outstanding academic credentials who plan to pursue careers in science, mathematics or engineering.

"All of the applications were built solidly on strong GPAs... and a proven record of accomplishment in research," Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships Director Art Casciato said.

Sophomores receive two-year scholarships, while juniors receive one-year grants. Winners are given a stipend of up to $7,500 per year. This money must be used for their tuition, fees, books and room and board.

Each year, CURF is allowed to nominate four Penn students from the College of Arts and Sciences or the School of Engineering and Applied Science for the Goldwater Scholarship. Of this year's four nominees -- College junior Aryeh Warmflash, Engineering junior Jonathan Wanderer, College junior Jason Chinitz and Engineering sophomore Eugene Brudno -- the first three have been named winners.

"I was surprised not that three students won the award this year, but that our fourth nominee... didn't win as well," Casciato said.

This year marks the second time Penn has had three Goldwater scholars, the highest number in its history. The record was first set in 2000.

Research is a necessary qualification for any Goldwater scholarship applicant. In teaming up with Neurosurgery Professor Ramesh Raghupathi, Wanderer has demonstrated his capabilities in the subject of traumatic brain injury research.

"We do animal research and look at the effects of brain injuries to varying degrees on the cellular basis," said Wanderer, who is a double major in Biological Basis for Behavior and Computer and Cognitive Science. "We hope [our research will] lead to therapies for treating brain injuries in humans."

Chinitz's research also involved animal testing in the hopes of future benefit to humans, but the BBB major focused on psychiatric disorders, specifically schizophrenia.

"I was looking for new risk factors that would be indicative of schizophrenia, using mice to model new ways to predict schizophrenia in human populations," Chinitz said.

The research done by Warmflash -- a physics and math major -- included work for the Harvard-Smithsonian lab for astrophysics.

Not only do Goldwater Scholars demonstrate excellence in various research fields, but many go on to receive prestigious post-graduate awards such as the Rhodes or Marshall scholarship.

"What is so wonderful about winning the Goldwater is that in recent years, there has been a demonstrable correlation between winning the Goldwater and winning the Marshall and the Rhodes," Casciato said.

This year, six of the 32 students that were named Rhodes Scholars had also been awarded the Goldwater Scholarship as undergraduates. And in recent years, 44 Goldwater Scholars have received Rhodes Scholarships and 39 have been the recipients of the Marshall Award.

Although Penn has yet to see one of its Goldwater Scholars go on to become a Rhodes Scholar or Marshall recipient, Casciato remains hopeful for the future and notes that the recent increase in award recipients can only lead to an increased chance of winning post-graduate awards in the future.

"Three Goldwaters, two Gates, three Mellons -- Penn students are winning these scholarships in bunches," Casciato said. "This is how it should be, and I'm very proud that CURF has helped all these students to present themselves in the best light possible."

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