College of Charleston junior biochemistry major and Honors College student Nathan Adamson was granted a prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship Award in March 2014 to pursue an academic career in the chemistry and biochemistry fields.
Juniors Carson Reed, a biochemistry major, and Patricia Cooney, a biology major, won honorable mentions from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
RELATED: Learn more about the Honors College
The Foundation announced, “The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.”
Adamson plans to use his scholarship award to pursue a graduate school career. “I couldn’t believe I actually won,” Adamson said. “I only recently made the decision to apply for graduate school, so to find out that I had won a prestigious scholarship for students who intend to pursue a graduate education confirmed for me that I was making a good choice with my future.”
“We are always thrilled to see our stellar students receive the recognition they so richly deserve,” Dean of the School of Sciences and Mathematics, Mike Auerbach said. “Recognition at the national level is a testament to the quality of our students and faculty.”
Anton Vander Zee, assistant professor of English and director of the College’s Office of Nationally Competitive Awards said, “This is our second straight successful year with the Goldwater Scholarship, and I think it says great deal about how academically ambitious our student are, about how seriously we take undergraduate research as an institution, and about our College’s emerging awards culture in which students and faculty across campus are tuning in to these outstanding opportunities.”
RELATED: Check out the Awards News site
“When I first came to the College of Charleston, I had no idea that I would ever consider this as a career option,” Adamson said. “I plan to work toward a Ph.D. in organic chemistry, and later specialize in medicinal chemistry. Biochemistry is a difficult major to be in, but my professors at the College are what make it worthwhile.”
Adamson conducted laboratory research with his faculty mentor, Instructor of Chemistry and Biochemistry Neal Tonks. “As a research student, what stands out about Nathan Adamson are the breadth of his interests in research, his ability to find new problems to study, and his tireless efforts in a lab. His performance is already at the level of many upper level graduate students,” Tonks said.
Adamson plans to apply to graduate programs in fall 2014. Reed and Cooney also intend to work toward doctorate degrees in the sciences.
Student interested in learning more about the Goldwater or other award opportunities should contact Dr. Vander Zee at nationalawards@cofc.edu and visit the main NCA website and the Awards News and Search site to learn more.
