Goldwater Scholar

Engineering Physics Student Matthew Winchester Wins 2016 Goldwater Scholarship

Anonymous — Fri, 01 Apr 2016 21:24:45 +0000

Engineering Physics Student Matthew Winchester Wins 2016 Goldwater Scholarship Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/01/2016 - 15:24

Congratulations to Matthew Winchester who was awarded a 2016 Goldwater Scholarship! Matthew is majoring in Engineering Physics, and is working on an honors research project on super-radiant lasers in James Thompson’s lab.

After graduating with his undergraduate degree, Matthew plans to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, conducting research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics with an emphasis on precision metrology and then teach at the University level.

According to their website, The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate.

The scholarship recognizes sophomores and juniors who have achieved high academic merit and who are expected to be leaders in their fields.

Matthew is the fourth CU-Physics Goldwater Scholar in the last two years. Other recent Goldwater Scholars were Oak Nelson (Engineering Physics, 2015), Ryan Dewey (Physics and Astrophysics, 2014), and Jasmine Brewer (Engineering Physics, 2014).

Off

Traditional

White

Engineering Physics Student Wins 2015 Goldwater Scholarship

Anonymous — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 17:49:40 +0000

Engineering Physics Student Wins 2015 Goldwater Scholarship Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/16/2015 - 11:49

Congratulations to Engineering Physics student Andrew Nelson, who has been awarded a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship. The announcement was made on Wednesday, April 15th. Nelson is the third CU-Physics student to win a Goldwater Scholarship in two years.

The scholarship is worth up to $7,500 and recognizes sophomores and juniors who have achieved high academic merit and who are expected to be leaders in their fields.

Nelson is among only 260 Goldwater Scholars selected from a pool of 1,206 mathematics, science and engineering students from universities and colleges nationwide.

“In winning the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship, Andrew represents the high quality of the math, science and engineering programs at CU,” said Deborah Viles, CU-Boulder’s top scholarship director. “His talent as well as the varied experiences and opportunities he’s had at CU combine to make him an emerging leader in his field. We’re very proud of Andrew, and proud that CU continues its long history of Goldwater winners.”

CU-Boulder has had at least one Goldwater Scholar every year since 2005, and Nelson is CU-Boulder’s 37th Goldwater Scholar since the award’s inception in 1989.

Nelson, a junior engineering physics major who grew up in Boulder, became interested in studying fusion as an energy source after attending a campus talk hosted by the Department of Physics and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, where he also worked as a student in a laboratory.

“We have a really, really strong physics department, and learning everything I need to know in my classes has made it really easy to apply that knowledge to research in a lab,” Nelson said. “My position at NIST also helped me learn a lot of lab skills that you wouldn’t necessarily get in class.”

Over the course of 50-plus years, CU-Boulder has formed highly productive research partnerships with national laboratories, including NIST, located in the Boulder area. Collaborative efforts include large joint institutes with hundreds of scientists as well as university departmental appointments of adjoint faculty from the national laboratories. The national labs also provide numerous internships for undergraduates and graduate students.

Nelson spent a semester last year working on proton fast ignition at the Technische Universität Darmstadt in Germany to gain experience in the highly specialized field. As an undergraduate, he also has been a co-author on two scientific papers.

Outside of his schoolwork and research, Nelson is president of the campus chapter of Engineers Without Borders, with which he traveled to Rwanda last summer to build a rainwater catchment system for a small village.

He also plays Ultimate Frisbee for CU-Boulder’s club sports team Mambird, which won the national championship last year.

“CU-Boulder has so many clubs and programs to join, it has really been huge for me to have these outlets and to hang out with people that I can really relate to,” Nelson said.

Nelson plans to pursue a PhD in plasma physics where he hopes to conduct research related to developing nuclear fusion technologies as a practical and reliable commercial energy source.

Viles said she encourages high-achieving students with strong research backgrounds to apply for a Goldwater Scholarship next year. To apply, interested students should contact Viles atdeborah.viles@colorado.edu for more information.

View the University of Colorado, Boulder news release.

Off

Traditional

White

Two Physics Students Win Goldwater Scholarships

Anonymous — Fri, 04 Apr 2014 23:36:13 +0000

Two Physics Students Win Goldwater Scholarships Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 04/04/2014 - 17:36

Congratulations to Jasmine Brewer and Ryan Dewey for being awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for 2014. Brewer is a junior in engineering physics, and Dewey is a junior in astrophysics and physics. They join chemical engineering and applied mathematics major Brennan Coffey as the three University of Colorado Boulder Goldwater scholars this year.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship for Excellence in Education Program was created, "to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue research careers in these fields." Goldwater scholarships, worth up to $7,500 each, are awarded annually based on high academic achievement.

Ms. Brewer conducts research with Assistant Professor Paul Romatschke in his theoretical Nuclear Physics group, where she develops simulations of strongly interacting ultracold Fermi gases. She also works with Assistant Professor Ivan Smalyukh, researching particle interactions in liquid crystals. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematical physics.

Mr. Dewey is currently conducting research on solar phenomena with Professor Dan Baker and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) studying Mercury's atmosphere and magnetosphere with data from the NASA MESSENGER spacecraft. He plans to continue research in space physics and solar weather, and to pursue a doctorate in heliophysics.

Off

Traditional

White