NC State University Students Win Goldwater Scholarships

Three North Carolina State University students are winners of prestigious Goldwater Scholarships.

Morgan Elizabeth Carter, a junior biochemistry major from Bermuda Run, N.C., Cody Allen Melton, a junior physics and applied mathematics major from Liberty, N.C., and Eric Whitmire, a junior biomedical engineering and computer science major from Wilmington, N.C., were among 271 recipients from a field of 1,107 applicants.

The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. They were designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

Carter is a member of the University Honors Program and College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Honors Program. She has engaged in long-term undergraduate research and has served as an undergraduate teaching assistant. She was a University Honors Program ambassador, has volunteered at the Daniel Center for Math and Science and is active in student government. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular biology and to teach at a university and conduct research in functional genomics.

Melton is a member of the University Honors Program and has served as an Honors Village Fellow. He is the recipient of the Chancellor’s Leadership Scholarship and the Goodnight Scholarship. He has been inducted into both Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi as a junior. He is a junior member of the American Astronomical Society and president of the Society of Physics students at NC State. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computational astrophysics and wants to conduct research in nuclear astrophysics.

Whitmire is a Park Scholar and member of the University Scholars Program. He received the Donald Bitzer Creativity Award, given to recognize and encourage creativity in undergraduate computer science students, in 2012. He has also received a Creasy Math Scholarship and the Most Promising Young Scientist Award in 2010. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and conduct research in bioelectricity and biomedical devices.

– kulikowski –