University of Portland students Claire Couch, of Oregon City, OR, and James Gaynor, of Vancouver, WA, have received prestigious scholarships from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Couch and Gaynor earned two of 271 scholarships that were awarded to undergraduate sophomores and juniors for the 2013-2014 academic year.
The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,107 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated nationwide. The one and two year scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
Couch is a sophomore biology major from Oregon City. Her career goals include getting her doctorate in virology and conducting research in virus ecology and viral evolution.
Gaynor is a junior chemistry major from Vancouver, Wash. He plans to pursue his doctorate in physical chemistry and masters in materials science as well as research nanomaterials for application in biomedicine and energy, and teach at the university level.
Past Goldwater Scholarship recipients from the University of Portland include Claire Clelland ’05 and Mitchell Myjak ’01. Truc-Vi Huynh Duong ’13 was an honorable mention for the award.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986. The scholarship program, honoring Senator Barry Goldwater, was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.
Since its first award, the foundation has bestowed more than 6,550 scholarships worth about $40 million. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 80 Rhodes Scholarships, 118 Marshall Awards, 110 Churchill Scholarships and numerous other distinguished fellowships.