Students earn prestigious scholarships
Two USU students were named 2007 Goldwater Scholars for their academic merit in the fields of science and mathematics.
As scholars of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, Jennifer Albretsen and Arthur Mahoney each received a two-year scholarship of up to $7,500 each year.
Jodie Tvedtnes, who is majoring in physics, received an honorable mention.
“Recognition at the national level for our students and their work shows the caliber of our students and their undergraduate research experience. These students have been getting their hands dirty since day one. They have sought opportunity for excellence and are poised to make a real contribution to their fields,” said Christie Fox, Honors Program director and fellowship adviser at USU.
Albretsen, a sophomore majoring in physics, said, “I am honored to follow an outstanding group of students from USU and from the physics department specifically who have received this award in the past.”
She is an undergraduate research fellow and is currently working with J. R. Dennison’s surface physics group. Albretsen said they are studying the effects of the light and charged particles on materials used in spacecraft.
Mahoney, a sophomore majoring in computer science and mathematics, said he too was honored to receive the scholarship.
“To me, being a Goldwater Scholar means a whole set of new doors have just been opened,” Mahoney said. “It shows that performing undergraduate research (which is a significant part of the Goldwater criteria), even if you don’t get paid, is an incredible investment for the long run.”
Mahoney performs undergraduate research under the direction of Dan Watson. He said he hopes to one day found and lead a research laboratory studying autonomous robots and their self-organizing networks. He said he would also like to study their use in search and rescue missions and parallel computing.
He said the research he is doing is a great opportunity that will be beneficial to his career.
“I don’t get paid a cent, but I perform my own research and the fact that I get to work with incredibly intelligent people like Dr. Watson pays off tenfold in the end,” Mahoney said.
To honor the students and their achievements, they were surprised in one of their classes with balloons and a gift, Fox said.
“We like to make a public presentation of it to celebrate them and to publicize the scholarship,” Fox said.
The students were given “The Discoverers” by Alan Lightman signed by USU President Stan Albrecht.
Fox said she and all those who have worked with the students delivered the surprise to them.
“We invite whomever we can to make it a true celebration,” she said. “It is probably the best day of the year.”
Mahoney said he was surprised and embarrassed when he received the gifts during a class.
“It was very embarrassing actually. They made me stand in front of everybody and hold balloons like a little kid. However, it was nice to be recognized for my accomplishments. Despite the embarrassing balloons, it was very, very kind of Dr. Fox and the honors department to do that for us,” he said.
More than 10 students at USU applied for the scholarship. However, only four students from each academic institution can submit applications. A selection committee chose the four students that would be the most competitive. Those on the committee were Fox, Lisa Berreau, associate dean of science, and David Peak, a professor of physics.
Mahoney said the application process was fairly simple with the exception of being one of the four chosen to submit an application to the foundation.
“To be honest, making it through the first cut was a miracle – there are some pretty incredible undergraduate researchers here on campus,” he said.
Fox said there were 317 Goldwater Scholars chosen from around the nation this year.
-ariek@cc.usu.edu