Engineering student Christine Gleicher from The University of New Mexico was just announced as a 2022-2023 Goldwater Scholar. She was chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors nominated by 433 academic institutions.
“While sitting in the Centennial Engineering Building at UNM and having received the email of being selected to be a 2022 Goldwater Scholar, I felt a rush of emotions of excitement, shock, and an overall feeling of gratitude” she said. “This feeling of gratitude can be attributed to my mentor, Dr. Eva Chi, for believing in my capability to pursue and excel in research. I’d also like to thank Fahimeh Maghsoodi for teaching and encouraging me to push through the tough moments along the way and always being there when I needed it. Finally, thank you Kiyoko Simmons for guiding me through the application process, and I’m forever thankful for my friends and family for providing the best advice and support.”
Alongside mentors Eva Chi (Professor and Regents' Lecturer in UNM Chemical and Biological Engineering) and Fahimeh Maghsoodi (Ph.D candidate, Nanoscience and Microsystem Engineering) Gleicher is pursuing a degree in engineering. Her goal is to obtain a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering then conduct research in neurology. Ultimately, she would like to develop a company that researches, develops, and creates biomedical technologies and treatments for neurodegeneration.
She is in good company. Of students who reported, 175 of this year’s Goldwater Scholars are men, 234 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree objective. Many of the Scholars have published their research in leading professional journals and have presented their work at professional society conferences.
Past Goldwater Scholars have gone on to win an impressive array of prestigious post-graduate fellowships, among which are the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, Rhodes Scholarship, Marshall Scholarship, Churchill Scholarship, Hertz Fellowship, DOE Computation Science Graduate Fellow-ship, and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.
“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, Acting Deputy Director of Research, Technology and Laboratories, who oversees the NDEP program, as he explained the partnership.
With the 2022 awards, this brings the number of scholarships awarded since 1989 by the Goldwater Foundation to 9870.