Three University of Richmond students named 2007-08 Goldwater Scholars
March 28, 2007
Three University of Richmond students have been named winners in the 2006-07 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships competition, the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, science and engineering.
Bryan Der, a junior biochemistry major from Chester, Va., Alex Moore, a sophomore biochemistry major from Chesapeake, Va., and Evan Wang, a sophomore double-majoring in chemistry and mathematics from Midlothian, Va., were among only 317 undergraduates selected nationwide as Goldwater scholars.
Winners were selected on academic merit from a field of 1,110 students nominated by their college faculties. The one- and two-year awards cover tuition, fees, books, room and board up to $7,500 a year. Richmond's three awards compared favorably with other top national colleges and universities this year. For example, Harvard had the maximum of four, and MIT, Williams and Davidson each had two. Princeton and Washington and Lee both had one.
All three Richmond students are undergraduate researchers funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and were the university's only Goldwater nominees.
Der, a graduate of Thomas Dale High School, has been conducting research since his freshman year with Jonathan Dattelbaum, associate professor of chemistry, on a novel glucose biosensor that could be a step toward a minimally invasive, implantable sensor for improved monitoring of blood glucose levels in diabetics. He will give a poster presentation on the topic at
the American Society for Microbiology meeting in May and previously presented to the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges. Der is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key International honor societies, participates in Intervarsity Christian Fellowship and attends Richmond on an Ethyl and Albemarle Science Scholarship. He is the son of Charles and Kristen Der of Chester.
Moore, a graduate of Western Branch High School, is a student researcher in the lab of Scott Knight, assistant professor of biology. He will present some results of his work, on RNA interference and how it applies to the regulation of genes essential for development, at the annual meeting of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology next month. Moore holds both Ethyl and Albemarle Science and National Merit scholarships at Richmond and conducted summer research last year with grant support from the Thomas F. and Kate Miller Jeffress Foundation. He is a member of the university cycling team and resident of Outdoor House, a campus living and learning community that focuses on personal and intellectual interaction with nature. Moore is the son of Drs. Sarah and Glenn Moore of Chesapeake.
Wang, a graduate of Midlothian High School, has been conducting computational chemistry research under associate professor of chemistry Carol Parish since his freshman year. He uses supercomputers to study the energetics of a class of anticancer drugs called enediynes in an attempt to make the drugs more cancer-specific. He recently returned from the American Chemical Society's national meeting in Chicago, where he gave a poster presentation. Wang recently received a Beckman Fellowship supporting 15 months of research to begin this summer. He attends Richmond on Oldham and National Merit scholarships and is a student ambassador of the university. He is the son of Gary Wang and Qiu Yuan of Midlothian.
Goldwater scholarships honor the late Arizona senator by encouraging outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.