UA Students Receive Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Three students at The University of Alabama have received one of the country’s most elite academic scholarships.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation selected two UA juniors, Andrew J. Vincent, a chemistry major from Birmingham (zip code 35243) and Jackson R. Switzer, a biochemistry major from Gulfport, Miss., and UA sophomore Daniel E. Roberts, a biological sciences major from Amston, Conn., as 2007 Goldwater Scholars.

The three UA students were among 317 undergraduate sophomores and juniors selected on the basis of academic merit to be this year’s Goldwater Scholars. These scholars were selected from more than 1,100 mathematics, science and engineering students from schools nationwide and were nominated by their colleges and universities for the prestigious award.

The one and two year scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Goldwater Scholar – Andrew J. Vincent

Vincent has been working in the computational chemistry group headed by Dr. David Dixon, UA Ramsay Chair in Chemistry, for three semesters in the UA Computer- Based Honors Program.

“Andrew has made substantial contributions to research in my group even though he is only a junior. His plan is to obtain an M.D./Ph.D. degree and to do biomedical research after he graduates from the University of Alabama. He is an outstanding student who is well deserving of this scholarship,” said Dixon in his nomination of Vincent.

At UA, Vincent has been a member of Freshman Forum, Alpha Epsilon Delta Premedical Honor Society, Lambda Sigma Phi Fraternity, an Intrafraternity Council representative and a National Merit Scholar resident mentor. He has just been named a fellow in the UA Blackburn Institute.

This summer he will be an intern at UAB in the pathology department’s PREP Program (Program for Research Experience in Pathology), working with Dr. Danny Welch, Leonard H. Robinson Professor in the department of pathology, division of molecular and cellular pathology. For the past two summers, Vincent has worked in Birmingham at the Department of Veterans Affairs Research Enhancement Award Program as a research assistant for a hernia repair study.

Vincent is planning a career in biochemical medical research “most likely dealing with newly appearing antibiotic resistant bacteria or complex, seemingly incurable, retroviruses,” he said.

Goldwater Scholar – Jackson R. Switzer

Switzer has been active on campus as a member of the UA Blackburn Institute, the Other Club, a Gamma Sigma Epsilon Chemistry Honors Club officer, and a participant in the Chemistry Undergraduate Research Program. He also serves as a volunteer in the YMCA After School Program, he works part-time at Phifer Wire, and he works for the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies. He was recently inducted into ODK, Anderson Society and Mortar Board campus wide honor societies.

Switzer has worked in the research group of Dr. David Dixon for almost two years. “Jackson has been doing outstanding research in my group in the area of computational chemistry and has discovered new chemical bonding concepts,” Dixon said in support of Switzer.

Switzer plans to pursue his doctorate in biochemistry and a career of researching chemical weapons and their effects. “Through the study of chemical weapons I look to enhance methods for detection aiding to stop their mitigation,” Switzer said.

This summer, Switzer will have an internship with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association’s Air Resources Laboratory Special Operations and Research Branch in Las Vegas, Nev. He will investigate the accuracy of a particulate dispersion model. This past summer, Switzer had an internship with the Naval Research Laboratory working on improving data sharing on fleet vessels at home and overseas.

“He is passionate about the pursuit of a somewhat unique career as a chemical weapons specialist and is equally enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve his country in this capacity by aiding in the detection and remediation of chemical weapons. In pursuing his career goal as a chemist, he refuses to be distracted from excellence in everything he does,” said Dr. Shane Sharpe, director of the UA Computer-Based Honors Program, in his nomination of Switzer for the scholarship.

Goldwater Scholar – Daniel E. Roberts

Roberts has career aspirations to work as a research scientist focusing on finding effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. He plans to accomplish this by “seeking to answer the fundamental scientific questions that underlie the abnormal conditions.”

As part of his undergraduate scientific experience at UA, Roberts has been conducting research on the genetics of neurological diseases using the fruit fly model in the lab of Dr. Janis O’Donnell, UA professor of biological sciences.

“I find myself treating Dan Roberts like one of my better Ph.D. students,” O’Donnell said in her letter of support for Roberts. “I am convinced that Dan has unlimited potential as a scientist, and I am very fortunate that he has chosen my research program to further his training,” she wrote.

At UA, Roberts has been a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Freshman Honor Society, Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society, Gamma Beta Phi National Collegiate Honor and Service Organization, and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. He is also an accomplished piano player.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986. The Scholarship Program, honoring 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.