Students from the departments of mathematics and sciences made a strong showing on the national level this year. Three members of the junior class received Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, given in recognition of outstanding abilities in mathematics, natural sciences, or engineering.
The scholarships recognized the work of Catherine Del Vecchio '05 in biochemistry, Ian Morrison '05 in physics, and Laura Perovich '05 in math.
This national award, given annually, is based on academic excellence and intent to pursue a career in natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering. During the application process, students are asked to identify and describe a problem in their field of interest that they find intriguing. Students receive up to $7,500 per year to cover the costs of tuition, books, or room and board.
Three hundred thirteen undergraduate students nationwide received Goldwater Scholarships this year, selected from an applicant pool of 1,113.
"In the past five years Bowdoin has had one winner on average," said Physics Professor Stephen Naculich, who is in charge of the Goldwater Scholarship process on campus. "This is the first time that we've had three in one year, to the best of my knowledge."
Dean of Student Affairs Craig Bradley said, "I am enormously proud of the three students who've won Goldwater Scholarships. The students are wonderfully talented scientists with enormous promise who have succeeded in an extremely competitive national scholarship selection process."
Inspired by her work at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York, Del Vecchio intends to pursue a career in cancer research after graduating from Bowdoin. "Part of the reason why cancer research is so interesting is because the real-life applications are clearly evident," she said. Del Vecchio intends to obtain a Ph.D in biochemistry and eventually have her own lab where she said she "hope[s] to investigate new therapeutic options [for cancer patients]."
Morrison spent last semester working in the field of relative astrophysics, attempting to determine the maximum mass of a certain type of star using computer models. He completed most of his work last semester during an independent study with Physics Professor Thomas Baumgarte.
"We manipulated variables such as how the star spins and what it is made out of, trying to make the biggest star possible," Morrison said. "We found that stars that spin fast inside and slow on the outside are capable of having the largest mass." He intends to continue in the field of physics after Bowdoin, going to graduate school, doing research and possibly teaching.
Perovich chose to focus her interests on what she described as "an environmental science sort of problem I chose to approach using math."
"I am trying to create a mathematical model that describes the way that explosive particles dissolve in the environment," she said. Perovich has done research relating to this question for the past two summers.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship was established in 1986 "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," according to the scholarship website. Each year, a selection committee at Bowdoin selects up to four students annually to nominate for the award. These applications are then submitted to the Board of Trustees of the Goldwater Foundation, which decides on the scholarship recipients.