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Biochemistry major Jaryd Freedman ’08 (Ambler, Pa.) has achieved national distinction as a recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship. Awarded for academic merit, the Goldwater is the premier undergraduate award of its type in the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering.
Scott Crown ’08 (Effort, Pa.), a Marquis Scholar majoring in chemical engineering, received an honorable mention.
Lafayette is No. 1 among the nation’s best liberal arts colleges in the number of Goldwater Scholarships in the last six years, with 14.
Freedman’s Goldwater award will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 next academic year. He is the latest in a long list of recent Lafayette recipients of prestigious national and international scholarships and fellowships for undergraduate and post-graduate study. For information on applying for scholarships and fellowships, contact Julia A. Goldberg, associate dean of studies, (610) 330-5521.
After graduating from Lafayette, Freedman plans to obtain an M.D. and Ph.D. in biochemistry. He would like to conduct research at a university hospital to develop cheaper, less toxic antiretroviral treatments in order to ease the suffering and extend the lives of HIV positive patients.
Last summer, Freedman worked with William Miles, professor of chemistry, on cutting-edge research that may lead to the production of new medicines. In Miles’ ongoing project, they looked at gamma-hydroxy butenolides found in natural products like sea sponge extracts, which have the potential ability to fight diseases like cancer.
Freedman is a member of the varsity swim team and received the team’s academic achievement award. He has also been named to the Patriot League academic honor roll.
Crown plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemical engineering and then conduct research in colloidal and interfacial science at a research university or in the pharmaceutical industry.
He collaborated with Patricia Darcy, assistant professor of chemical engineering, on research entitled “Enzyme Adsorption Kinetics at the Air/Fluid Interface,” as well as another project to examine the toxic effects of ionic liquids on different yeast species. He presented the kinetics research at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers’ (AIChE) annual meeting in November in San Francisco. Crown is a past recipient of the Chemical Rubber Company Freshman Achievement Award, which is presented to the most outstanding first-year student in general chemistry. He also spent a semester abroad in Bremen, Germany last spring with five other Lafayette students, studying engineering, German language and literature, and politics.
Established by Congress in 1986, the scholarship program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. This year 317 scholarships were awarded for the 2007-08 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from the United States. The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,110 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.
“Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs,” says Peggy Goldwater Clay, chair of the Goldwater Foundation. “Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 69 Rhodes Scholarships (6 of the 32 awarded in the United States in 2007), 86 Marshall Awards (6 of the 44 awarded in the United States in 2007), and numerous other distinguished fellowships.”
Lafayette’s Goldwater recipients:
2006
Frank Cortazar ’07 (Miami, Fla.), biochemistry
Matthew Coughlin ’07 (Boyertown, Pa.), chemistry
Michael Elzinga ’07 (St. Paul, Minn.) pursuing a B.S. mechanical engineering and A.B. with a major in physics
Jordan Tirrell ’08(West Grove, Pa.) mathematics
2005
Katie Thoren ’06, B.S. chemistry
2004
Megan Coyer ’05, B.S. neuroscience
LeAnn Dourte ’05, B.S. mechanical engineering
Ryan Waite ’05, B.S. mechanical engineering (honorable mention)
2003
Alison Campbell ’04, B.S. biochemistry
Gabriella Engelhart ’05, B.S. chemical engineering
Elizabeth Ponder ’04, B.S. biochemistry/A.B. cultural biomedicine
Meghan Ramsey ’04, B.S. in neuroscience
2002
Daniel Ruddy ’03,B.S. chemistry
Alyssa Picchini ’04, B.S. neuroscience
2001
Daniel Swarr ’03, B.S. physics/A.B. mathematics
2000
Matthew Patton ’02, B.S. computer science