Two NC State Students Win Coveted Goldwater Scholarships

North Carolina State University students Lauren Jackson of Wilkesboro, N.C., a junior majoring in materials science and engineering, and Nicole Kroeger of Apex, N.C., a sophomore majoring in mathematics, have won prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Jackson and Kroeger are among 321 recipients of the honor selected from a field of 1,035 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The awards are based on academic merit and cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Jackson is a member of the University Honors Program and Undergraduate Research Program. She worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory last summer, and is currently working with Dr. Mark Johnson, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, under a special Undergraduate Research Energy Award.

Kroeger is a member of the University Honors Program. Before her freshman year, Kroeger worked on mathematical finance with Dr. Jeff Scroggs, director of undergraduate math programs, as part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Reaching Incoming Students Enrichment program at NC State. Last summer, Kroeger did research at Central Michigan University on difference sets, which are critical for cryptography.

Two NC State students also received honorable mentions in the 2008 Goldwater Scholarship competition. Ryan Going of Raleigh, N.C., a junior double-majoring in electrical engineering and applied math; and Glenna Wink of Morley, Mich., a junior majoring in biochemistry.

The board of trustees of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation makes the Goldwater Scholarship selections. The foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986 to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

Thirty-three NC State students have received the coveted Goldwater Scholarships since the program’s inception.

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