Two College of Natural Science students awarded Goldwater Scholarships
Two undergraduate students in the Michigan State University College of Natural Science (NatSci) are recipients of the nationally competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
Charles Hultquist, a junior majoring in physics and advanced mathematics and Andrew McDonald, a junior majoring in statistics and advanced mathematics and computer science in the College of Engineering, represent MSU’s 48th and 49th Goldwater Scholars. Both are Honors College students.
For the 2021 Goldwater Scholarship competition, 1,256 outstanding undergraduates were nominated by 438 institutions. Hultquist and McDonald were among 410 scholars selected.
“We are thrilled that Charles and Andrew have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships,” said Lynmarie Posey, NatSci associate dean of undergraduate studies. “The scholarships are highly competitive and speak to the caliber of students we have here in NatSci and at MSU. NatSci is proud to have contributed to the development of these two future STEM leaders. We congratulate them both on their outstanding accomplishments and this well-deserved honor.”
Hultquist, who hails from Aurora, Ill., and graduated from the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, is a research assistant for Professor Remco Zegers in MSU’s National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory. He is also a recipient of MSU’s Alumni Distinguished Scholarship.
"I am incredibly excited to be selected as a Goldwater scholar and earnestly grateful
for the recognition I have received for my work,” Hultquist said. “I would like to
thank my research mentor, Dr. Remco Zegers, and the entire MSU community that has
supported me throughout my college experience. This opportunity would not have been
possible without them. I look forward to continuing my research here at MSU and in
graduate school."
McDonald, who hails from Hudson, Ohio and graduated from Hudson High School, is a
research assistant for Assistant Professor in Vaibhav Srivastava in the Distributed
Cyber Physical Human Systems Research (D-CYPHER) Laboratory, and Professor Emeritus
Laura Dillon in the Office for K-12 Outreach in the College of Engineering. He is
also a recipient of MSU’s Alumni Distinguished Scholarship.
“To be awarded the Goldwater Scholarship is an incredible honor—an honor I'm thrilled to share with the faculty and students of MSU who have shaped my aspirations in research and academia,” McDonald said. “I look forward to pursuing a Ph.D. in machine learning and artificial intelligence following my time as an undergraduate and would like to thank those who have encouraged and empowered my curiosity as a Spartan: my parents, my research mentor Professor Vaibhav Srivastava, and the countless others within the College of Natural Science and College of Engineering that I've had the privilege to interact with.”
Each year, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship seeks scholars committed to a career in science, mathematics, or engineering who display intellectual intensity and who have the potential for significant future contribution in their chosen field. Those students are awarded funding for undergraduate tuition and living expenses.
The funding for these awards is a collaboration between the U.S. Congress and the Department of Defense’s National Defense Education Program.
Banner image: Two undergraduate students in the Michigan State University College of Natural Science are recipients of the nationally competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship. Charles Hultquist, a junior majoring in physics and advanced mathematics and Andrew McDonald, a junior majoring in statistics and advanced mathematics and computer science in the College of Engineering, represent MSU’s 48th and 49th Goldwater Scholars. Both are Honors College students.
