Congrats to Megan and her 2025 NCAA March Madness winning bracket, picking Florida as the winning team. As always, the winner gets to select the dessert of their choosing!
Final Standings:
Megan – 308
Trista – 294
Ryan – 262
Elias – 252
Brianne – 232
Morgan – 182
Cate – 174
Heisler – 168
Elizabeth – 164
Mia – 126
Megan and Trista spent the day presenting their research at the National Council on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) symposium here in Pittsburgh. NCUR is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study by sponsoring an annual conference for students. Unlike meetings of academic professional organizations, this gathering of student scholars welcomes presenters from all institutions of higher learning and from all disciplines. Overall, this conference offers a unique environment for the celebration and promotion of undergraduate student achievement; provides models of exemplary research, scholarship, and creative activity; and offers student career readiness development.
As the result of an ongoing partnership with UWorld and the Department of Defense National Defense Education Programs (NDEP), Dr. John Yopp, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, announced that the Trustees of the Goldwater Board will be able to award 441 Goldwater scholarships to college students from across the United States for the 2025-2026 academic year. When these new awards are combined with the second year of support to 64 sophomores who received Goldwater scholarships in 2024, the total number will again be among the largest number of scholars ever supported in a single year. With the 2025 awards, the Goldwater Foundation has awarded 11,162 scholarships since 1989, the first year the scholarship was bestowed.
“The Department of Defense’s continued partnership with the Goldwater Foundation ensures we are supporting the development of scientific talent essential to maintaining our Nation’s competitive advantage,” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology Foundations, who oversees the NDEP program.
“We are proud to remain the Goldwater Foundation’s sole private sector partner for the second year and support undergraduates interested in pursuing medical research careers,” said Chandra S. Pemmasani, M.D., founder and CEO of UWorld. “It is inspiring to see how the foundation continues to motivate students to grow in their education and pursue their professional goals.
From an estimated pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, 1,350 science, engineering, and mathematics students were nominated by 445 academic institutions to compete for the 2025 Goldwater scholarships. Of the students who reported, 203 of the Scholars are men, 222 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree objective. Fifty Scholars intend to pursue research careers in mathematics and computer science, 240 in the sciences, 88 in medicine, and 63 in engineering and materials research.
Goldwater Scholars have gone on to win an impressive array of prestigious awards, becoming National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellows, NSF Graduate Research Fellows, Hertz Fellows, DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellows, Astronaut Scholars, Churchill Scholars, Marshall Scholars, and Rhodes Scholars.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on November 14, 1986. The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to identify, encourage, and financially support outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields.
