UNT leads Texas in number of Goldwater scholarship winners

For the third year in a row, UNT has more students named Barry M. Goldwater Scholars than any other Texas college or university.

Four UNT students are among 300 students in the nation who have won 2003 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships. The scholarships, considered among the country's most prestigious, are awarded to students planning careers in mathematics, science and engineering.

All college sophomores and juniors are eligible to compete for the scholarships, which provide a maximum of $7,500 each year to cover tuition, fees, books and room and board. Universities may nominate up to four students for the award. Students are chosen on the basis of their scientific research, grade point averages and other achievements.

In addition to having more scholars this year than any other Texas college or university, UNT is one of only two universities in the nation to have the maximum number of Goldwater scholars three years in a row. Duke University has also had the maximum number since 2001.

This year, UNT had more scholars than the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the California Institute of Technology and Stanford and Yale universities. UNT tied with 10 other universities, including Harvard, Princeton and Cornell universities, in having the maximum number of scholars.

All four of this year's scholars from UNT — Daniel Birt, Shinjita Das, Andrew Liu and Andrea Runyan — are students at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, a two-year residential program at UNT that allows talented students to complete their freshman and sophomore years of college while earning their high school diplomas. Students enroll in the academy following their sophomore year in high school, live in a UNT residence hall and attend UNT classes with college students.

James Duban, director of the UNT Office for Nationally Competitive Scholarships and chair of the UNT Faculty Goldwater Nominating and Mentoring Committee, says the "stunning achievement" of UNT's Goldwater scholars "demonstrates that TAMS recruits and fosters the best and brightest young scientists in the country."

"These students are destined to make a dramatic impact upon their fields of study," Duban says.

Richard Sinclair, TAMS dean, calls the Goldwater scholars "second to none in the nation in their academic and scientific abilities."

"Their accomplishments are even more impressive when you consider that they are competing with college students at least two years older," he says. "These awards are continuing evidence of the value of TAMS to the nation and to the quality of research programs at UNT and the UNT Health Science Center."

Birt was honored for his research on developing a method of creating standards for the semiconductor industry to implant dopants — impurities added to a pure substance to charge its electrical properties — on silicon wafers. He conducted his research in the laboratory of Jerome Duggan, UNT Regents Professor of physics.

Birt will attend the California Institute of Technology after graduating from TAMS May 9. He will major in physics for his bachelor's degree. He plans to eventually earn a doctoral degree in high-energy particle physics and become a laboratory researcher.

Das was honored for her research on using the ovarian hormone progesterone to prevent Alzheimer's disease. She conducted the research during the summer of 2002 at the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth, working in the laboratory of Meharvan Singh, assistant professor of pharmacology and neuroscience.

A National Merit scholarship winner, Das has been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to finish her bachelor's degree after graduating from TAMS in May. She plans to major in biology and eventually earn both a medical degree and a doctoral degree and pursue a research career in neuroscience.

Liu conducted his research during the summer of 2002 at the University of Chicago. Working in the laboratory of Maryellen Giger, professor of radiology, he studied mammography computer-aided diagnosis. Liu analyzed three different algorithms for detecting abnormalities in mammograms to improve the accuracy of computer-aided diagnosis.

Liu has applied to Johns Hopkins University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the California Institute of Technology, among other universities, to finish his bachelor's degree after he graduates from TAMS in May. He plans to eventually earn both a medical degree in radiology and a doctoral degree in either electrical engineering or applied mathematics to conduct research in medical imaging.

Runyan conducted her research during the summer of 2002 at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History. Working under the direction of David Hunt, the museum's specialist in physical anthropology, she examined 377 cadaver skeletons with reported causes of death to investigate a possible link between periodontal disease, or gum disease, and systemic conditions such as heart disease. From the research, she determined that tooth loss from periodontal infection is probably more harmful to health than infection without tooth loss.

Runyan was previously recognized for her research when she was named a semifinalist in both the 2002 Siemens Westinghouse Science & Technology Competition and the 2003 Intel Science Talent Search.

A National Merit finalist, Runyan plans to attend Stanford University after graduating from TAMS in May. She has not decided on a major.

Other Texas universities with Goldwater scholars this year include Texas A&M University (3), Trinity University (2), Southern Methodist University (2), Rice University (1) and the University of Texas at Austin (1).

UNT has had 25 Goldwater scholars since 1996. In addition, several TAMS graduates received Goldwater scholarships while finishing their bachelor's degrees at a university other than UNT. One of this year's two Goldwater scholarship winners from Stanford University, Priyanka Agarwal, graduated from TAMS in 2000.

Serving on the UNT Faculty Goldwater Nominating and Mentoring Committee were Elizabeth Bator, mathematics; Duban; Jannon Fuchs, biology; David Golden, physics; Paul Jones, chemistry; and Sam Matteson, physics.

More information on the Goldwater Scholarships can be found on the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Foundation home page at www.act.org/goldwater.

BY NANCY KOLSTI nkolsti@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue

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• Ireland's former head of state to speak at UNT
• Hurleys honored at UNT Alumni Awards Banquet
• State cuts force May 1 benefit changes
• Spring means keeping an eye on the sky
• Staff Council gets campus development report
• New voice mail system to provide users with new and improved services
• UNT expert explains when, how parents should talk to their children about war

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