Out of thousands of applicants, two Brigham Young University students were among 275 students nationwide who received the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, an award of up to $7,500 given to outstanding students pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering.
In March, R. Terik Daly from San Jose, Calif., and Dustin D. Gerrard from Evanston, Wyo., were named as Goldwater Scholars for the 2011–2012 school year. Additionally, two other BYU students received honorable mentions from the scholarship selection committee: Lauren Rose Richey from Mapleton and Thomas J. Hardin from Orem.
This is the fourth year in a row that students from BYU have received the award.
“This year we are very pleased to have two recipients, and we credit this to the wonderful research opportunities these students have had with their supervising research professors,” said John Bell, dean of Undergraduate Education at BYU. “We also credit the strong academic record each of the applicants has maintained and the wonderful advisement they have received during their application process from BYU’s Goldwater faculty coach, Randy Shirts.”
Daly is majoring in geological science and has a 3.96 GPA. He does research with Daniel Austin, who together study the chemistry of micrometeorite impact. Daly has successfully charged neutral quartz crystals for acceleration to meteorite velocity in laboratory impact studies, and he is building a time-of-flight mass spectrometer to detect the chemical species resulting from these impacts.
Gerrard is majoring in mechanical engineering and mathematics and has a 4.00 GPA. He does research with David Fullwood in materials science where they seek to predict the strength and electrical conductivity of composite materials using artificial intelligence techniques.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate. The purpose of the foundation is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields.
Learn more about the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship at www.act.org/goldwater or contact John Bell, dean of Undergraduate Education, at (801) 422-4377 or john_bell@byu.edu.
Writer: Philip Volmar
