Two Penn undergraduates receive Goldwater Scholarship

Two juniors at the University of Pennsylvania have been selected as Goldwater Scholars by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, which provides scholarships to undergraduate students interested in pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, math, or engineering. 

They are the 38th and 39th recipients from Penn since the United States Congress established the foundation in 1986 to honor the work of U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater.

The 38th Goldwater Scholar at Penn is Angus Beane, a junior in the School of Arts and Sciences who hails from Richmond, Va. He will graduate in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in physics and mathematics, as well as a master’s degree in physics. His research interests include astrophysics and cosmology, with a special focus on the Epoch of Reionization. His work examines alternative measurements of diffuse hydrogen gas from the era when the first galaxies were forming. A recipient of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Challenge Award, his career goal is to conduct research in theoretical cosmology and teach at the university level. 

The 39th Goldwater Scholar is Marcello Chang, a junior biochemistry, biophysics, computer science, and physics major in the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science from Carmichael, Calif. His career goal is to earn a Ph.D. in computational biology, conduct research in the life sciences by applying computer science and engineering technology, and become a faculty member at a research university. 

Each year Penn nominates four current sophomores or juniors.

An interdisciplinary team consisting of Yale Cohen from the Perelman School of Medicine, along with Larry Gladney and Ravi Sheth of the School of Arts and Sciences, reviewed applications and selected the nominees. In addition, Ann Vernon-Grey, the associate director for undergraduate research at Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, provided advising assistance.

Penn’s two other nominees, sophomore Vignesh Bhethanabotla, a chemical and biomedical engineering and physics major in the School of Engineering and Applied Science and the School of Arts and Sciences from Tampa, Fla., and MacKenzie Mauger, a biological basis of behavior, biology, biochemistry, biophysics, computer science, math, and physics major in the School of Arts and Sciences, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science, from Pequea, Pa., received Honorable Mention.

From Penn Today