Five Syracuse University students have been chosen for the 2024 Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics in the United States. This is the first time Syracuse has had five students selected for the cohort, and it is the third year in a row that the university has had at least three scholars picked in one year.
The recipients are:
- Julia Fancher, a sophomore physics and mathematics major in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and a member of the Renée Crown University Honors Program;
- Sadie Meyer, a sophomore biomedical engineering major in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and mathematics major in A&S;
- Kerrin O’Grady, a junior biomedical engineering major in ECS and neuroscience integrated learning major in A&S;
- Serena Peters, a junior chemistry major in A&S; and
- Gianna Voce, a sophomore computer science major in ECS and neuroscience Integrated learning major in A&S.
“The fact that five students from Syracuse were selected as Goldwater Scholars this year is a testament to our University’s robust support for undergraduate research and the high quality of faculty mentoring here.” Jolynn Parker, director, Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising
All five received research grants from the Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (the SOURCE).
Congress established the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program in 1986 to honor Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who served five terms. The program’s goal is to offer a steady supply of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by granting scholarships to students who want to pursue research careers in these subjects.
This year, the Goldwater Foundation received 1,353 nominations from across the country, with 438 students selected for the prize.
The Syracuse University Goldwater Scholarship nominees collaborated with the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA) to complete their applications. Syracuse’s national competition nominees were chosen by a faculty committee chaired by James Spencer, a chemistry professor at A&S.
“We’re really proud of Julia, Sadie, Kerrin, Serena, and Gianna. “They are outstanding young scientists, and it is wonderful to see them recognized with this award,” says Jolynn Parker, CFSA director. “The fact that five students from Syracuse were selected as Goldwater Scholars this year is a testament to our University’s robust support for undergraduate research and the high quality of faculty mentoring here.”
Julia Fancher
Fancher, a physics major, is also minoring in computer science and uses both talents to develop useful theoretical models of astrophysical processes.
“I have always loved space, and I now get to use physics and math to learn more about distant galaxies and black holes,” she said.
As a first-year student, Fancher entered the high-energy astrophysics lab of Eric Coughlin, an assistant professor of physics. Fancher works with Coughlin to study tidal disruption events, which occur when a star is killed by a black hole’s tidal field.
Fancher has published two papers on this topic in national journals, presented her findings at the local Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics and the national American Astronomical Society conference in January 2024, and was a finalist in the undergraduate AAS Chambliss poster competition. Last summer, she participated in the “Education and Inclusion in Post-Apartheid South Africa” program offered by Syracuse Abroad.
Fancher intends to pursue a doctorate in computational and analytical astrophysics, with the ultimate objective of becoming a professor in a research university and conducting research in theoretical high-energy astrophysics.
“I aim to build my own astrophysics lab focusing on discovering possible mechanisms of observed astrophysical transients through a combination of analytical methods and computational modeling,” Fancher said.
Sadie Meyer
Meyer grew up surrounded by research with broad implications for healthcare and recognized the significance of such work early on. She acquired a great desire to explore novel methods to women’s health and infertility, particularly from a biomedical engineering standpoint.
Meyer joined James Henderson, director of the BioInspired Institute and professor of biomedical and chemical engineering, in his laboratory during her first semester on campus to gain more research experience. The laboratory specializes on the development of biocompatible platforms and functional shape-memory materials.
Meyer has learned material synthesis and integrated mathematical approaches with experimental design to characterize programmed shape memory polymer topography for use as a dynamic cell culture substrate. Her current project investigates bacterial responses to shape-memory-actuated 3D silk wrinkled surfaces as a biofilm prevention method. Meyer is the third author of a manuscript titled “Polymers,” which will be published in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute magazine in February 2024.She will present her findings at the 50th Northeast Bioengineering Conference on April 4 at Stevens Institute of Technology. This summer, she will take part in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) at Northwestern University’s Soft and Hybrid Nanotechnology Experimental Resource Facility. She will examine the ultrastructure of yeast mitochondria to gain a better knowledge of cellular function, health, and evolution.
Meyer intends to pursue a Ph.D. program with specializations in regenerative medicine, biomaterials, and mechanobiology. “After earning my Ph.D., I will pursue a faculty position where I can oversee a lab of my own and conduct research to address challenges in fertility and reproductive health,” she said.
“Being selected for the Goldwater Scholarship encourages and supports my ambitions for further inquiry in my fields and makes a tremendous difference to my development as a researcher,” she adds in a statement.
Kerrin O’Grady
In high school, O’Grady volunteered at a camp for neurodiverse children and adults. “I have seen the need for adaptive and customizable everyday devices for individuals with impaired motor control,” she goes on to remark.
She is currently pursuing degrees in biomedical engineering and neurology, with a minor in philosophy. “As a bioengineer, I am eager to support communities that may not have the same opportunities I have been afforded,” she said.
O’Grady has been conducting research in the Henderson Lab since the beginning of her sophomore year. She has worked on producing silk-wrinkled topographies on 3D shape-memory polymeric scaffolds, as well as enhancing the adhesion and proliferation of mammalian cells, notably brain cells, on the scaffolds. Her current research focuses on employing silk-wrinkled shape-memory polymeric conduits to help repair peripheral nerve injuries.
O’Grady intends to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, with a particular emphasis on neuroengineering. After finishing her Ph.D., she plans to work in neural engineering research, collaborating with the neurodivergent and physically challenged groups.
“I want to lead experiments and to create devices and repair in vivo damage, similar to the work that Argonne National Laboratory is conducting on repairing spinal cord damage by injecting a treatment directly into paralyzed mice,” she said. This summer, O’Grady will continue his work at the University of Victoria as part of a Fulbright MITACS research internship. She will work in a facility developing 3D bioprinting brain tissues from stem cells.
“The Goldwater Scholarship will help me in a financial sense and will provide me with a community of dedicated students who have similar passions and goals as me,” she said.
Serena Peters
Peters is majoring in chemistry because she is interested in environmentally sustainable applications. She worked on a research project with Professor Jonathan French to quantify students’ sense of belonging in general chemistry classes. She is now conducting research at Professor Timothy Korter’s group on the polymorphism of two antiviral drugs, acyclovir and ganciclovir, utilizing high-complexity experimental and computational methodologies.
Peters carefully selects jobs that allow her to go deeper into the field of sustainable chemistry. “Whether presenting on how zeolites can be employed for nuclear waste cleanup or writing a paper on innovative carbon capture strategies, I consistently integrate environmental chemistry into my academic pursuits,” she said.
Peters intends to seek a Ph.D. in chemistry, focusing on applications for environmental sustainability. Her long-term professional objective is to become a research professor at a university and concentrate on marine cleanup.
“I hope to guide undergraduates who, like me, may be hesitant to pursue a research career. I aim to continue my studies in environmental chemistry, specifically the analysis of water toxins utilizing various types of spectroscopy. My goal is to create a research climate that demonstrates that research is a welcoming endeavor for everybody, regardless of background or identity,” she says.
“The Goldwater Scholarship has helped me gain confidence. I’ve long wondered if research was for me, partly because it’s such a male-dominated field. However, obtaining this fellowship has demonstrated to me that I am capable and deserve to be a researcher just like everyone else,” Peters says.
Gianna’s Voice
Voce has long been fascinated by computer science’s problem-solving abilities and the unlimited potential for interdisciplinary collaboration. “Computer science was originally inspired by the human brain and continues to be influenced by neuroscience, so seeing the parallels between my two majors is fascinating to me,” she said. “I love seeing the ways two seemingly disconnected fields interact and discovering new ways for them to do so.”
Voce transferred to Syracuse from Clarkson University and has been looking for research opportunities since the summer before her freshman year, when she took part in a PreFrosh Summer Research Experience through Clarkson’s Honors Program. She investigated the impact of commonly used fluorescent dyes on tendon mechanics, and her findings were published in the Journal of the Mechanics of Biomedical Materials.
In the summer of 2022, she took part in a REU at Texas State University that focused on cybersecurity in connected vehicles. She contributed to the development of a reinforcement learning system capable of correctly identifying which vehicles had been hacked by a cyberattack in networks that were more than 90% contaminated. She published and presented her findings at the Association for Computing Machinery REUNS 2023 conference in Washington, D.C., and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ International Conference on Consumer Electronics 2024 in Las Vegas. She will study abroad in Florence this summer with Syracuse Abroad.
After transferring to Syracuse, Voce joined the lab of Qinru Qiu, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, to study neuromorphic computing techniques. Her team works on software and artificial neural networks that run on Intel processors.
Voce intends to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science or neuroscience, with an emphasis in computational neuroscience. After finishing her degrees, she intends to work in the technology business as a computational neuroscientist or a machine learning engineer. “I aim to contribute novel insights toward the development of artificial intelligence systems that mimic the qualities of biological neural networks with the goal of increasing efficiency and accuracy in AI learning,” she said.
“The Goldwater Scholarship is an incredible honor that will not only assist me in my education but provide the opportunity to be a part of an amazing network of researchers that offer inspiration to pursue this career path,” Voce said.
Each fall, CFSA welcomes applicants for the Goldwater Scholarship, with a school deadline of mid-November. Interested students should contact CFSA at cfsa@syr.edu.
