Electrical engineering student Parker Gould has been selected as a 2010 Goldwater Scholar. Gould will receive a two-year scholarship worth $7,500 a year for educational expenses.
Each year, Vanderbilt and other four-year universities are given the opportunity to nominate up to four outstanding sophomore and junior students in the math, science and engineering fields. Two-year schools may nominate up to two students. Competition for the award is fierce: 278 scholars were selected on academic merit this year from a field of 1,111 students.
Gould, a junior from Houston, Texas, is completing a double major in Electrical Engineering and Political Science. He plans to earn a Ph.D. in Embedded Systems Design, conducting research in low-cost electronics for developing nations.
He currently works under the direction of Kevin Seale, biomedical assistant professor of the practice, Sharon Weiss, assistant professor of electrical engineering, and John Wikswo, professor of biomedical engineering on two projects in the Systems Biology and Bioengineering Undergraduate Research Experience (SyBBURE) program. Gould’s involvement at SyBBURE includes trying to improve a procedure known as microcontact printing for studying cell motility and working to develop a microfluidic peristaltic pump.
Of the 278 recipients of the 2010 Goldwater, 17 scholars are mathematics majors, 199 are science and related majors, 53 are majoring in engineering and nine are computer science majors. Many of the scholars have dual majors in a variety of mathematics, science, engineering and computer disciplines. Gould is one of two Vanderbilt University students that have been selected.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on Nov. 14, 1986. The scholarship program honoring the late Sen. Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.