Record Number of UA Students Receive Goldwater Scholarships

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — For the second year running, 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 sophomore biology majors, Kalen Berry of Hartselle and Susan M. DeLeon of San Antonio, Texas, and UA junior Eric R.J. Edwards, a physics and mathematics major from Memphis, Tenn., as 2008 Goldwater Scholars.

“This is the most Goldwater Scholars we have had,” said Dr. Gary Sloan, coordinator of prestige scholarships at UA. “Last year we had a record high number of three Goldwater Scholars and this year we have three again,” Sloan noted.

The accomplished students are studying and researching magnetic data storage, genetic components of epilepsy, and a novel gene implicated in Parkinson’s disease in labs on the UA campus.

The three UA students were among 321 mathematics, science and engineering students selected nationwide to receive the scholarships, which will cover the costs of tuition, books, fees and room and board up to $7,500 per year.

Background on the three UA scholars includes:

Goldwater Scholar — Eric R.J. Edwards

Edwards is double major and a double minor in Blount Undergraduate Initiative and Computer Based Honors who has worked with UA’s MINT program for two years. Under the guidance of Dr. Tim Mewes, UA assistant professor of physics, who nominated him for the award, Edwards worked on a project studying magnetization dynamics. He investigated the physics of nanostructures relevant for magnetic random access memory (MRAM). Many believe that MRAM may be the future of magnetic data storage. The work earned him the commendation of the Goldwater Scholarship.

“I was excited to hear about winning the Goldwater award. It provides motivation going forward in physics, and it’s encouraging to have your work recognized. I was happier to be able to share it with the people who have provided the opportunities for me to win the award,” Edwards said.

“Eric has made outstanding contributions to the research in my group in
the area of magnetization damping,” Mewes said. “His work revealed that spin-pumping contributes significantly to damping in thin film structures consisting
of ultra thin ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic layers.”

Edwards presented his work at the 2008 meeting of the American Physical Society in New Orleans.

“Eric is highly motivated, has the curiosity required for a career in physics and has shown persistence and creativity to overcome set-backs. He has the potential to make significant contributions in science, which is consistent with him being awarded the Goldwater Scholarship,” Mewes said.

The Capstone is not the only place Edwards has been able to make a scientific impact. Edwards worked last summer at Columbia University in a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program.

In addition to his work in the lab, Edwards has been active in the Society for Physics Students and the Blount Student Organization. He has also been involved with the Tuscaloosa community as an academic mentor for two years through a program in the Honors College. Since 2006, Edwards has taught math to local students in Tuscaloosa area public schools.

After graduation Edwards plans on earning his doctorate in physics and becoming a faculty member at a university.

Goldwater Scholar – Kalen Berry

Berry works in UA’s Caldwell Lab for Molecular and Developmental Biology where he focuses his research toward the identification of new gene products that may be implicated in epilepsy, using the worm C. elegans as a model system for studying genetic components of this disease.

“I came to the University hoping to achieve something great, and have worked hard in the Caldwell Lab since Christmas of my freshman year,” Berry said. “This scholarship is a wonderful reminder that hard work really does pay off in the end. There have been times when I wondered if everything that I am doing would be worth the effort. This scholarship is an excellent payoff.”

Berry said that before the scholarship he was considering student loans, but that the scholarship remedies a number of financial issues.

He was nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship by Dr. Guy Caldwell, an associate professor of biological science, and Dr. Kim Caldwell, an assistant professor of biological science. Some of their laboratory’s research focuses on Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy and dystonia by utilizing C.elegans, which is a nematode with a simple nervous system of 302 neurons that use many of the same neurotransmitters, receptors and connections as human neurons. Their study of nematodes has led to the Caldwell Lab’s nickname of “The Worm Shack.”

“Kalen displays a sophisticated level of understanding for his research area and is a voracious reader and interpreter of scientific literature,” said Dr. Kim Caldwell in her nomination. “He has a ‘full throttle’ approach towards research that can be easily observed at the bench; he and his colleagues are continuously evaluating and interpreting their data as it is generated.

“As a professor it is thrilling to both observe and participate in these discussions. Kalen is shaping his academic route toward a career as a research scientist. This aspiration is easily within his grasp as he is one of the most gifted and motivated students I have ever encountered.”

Berry, a member of Phi Eta Sigma National Freshman Honor Society, Lamda Sigma National Sophomore Honor Society and Computer Based Honors Programs, where he is involved in both academic and extracurricular activities, and at times, aids program recruitment, will continue his research in the Caldwell Lab with the Howard Hughes Undergraduate Summer Research Program.

His plans for the future include graduate school and a career in education and research. “I hope to have my own laboratory one day,” he said. “I would like to teach at the university level while conducting my research. I look forward to becoming more involved in my own research.”

Goldwater Scholar – Susan M. DeLeon

DeLeon has worked in the Caldwell Lab for Molecular and Developmental Biology since the fall of her freshman year. Her research focuses on a novel gene implicated in Parkinson’s disease, which involves performing studies that will lead toward a better understanding of the gene by determining what cellular pathways and networks it might be involved in.

DeLeon’s organizations include Tri-Beta National Biological Society and the National Society for Collegiate Scholars. In addition, she is also in the McNair Scholars program, an organization that helps to promote interest in graduate school among minority and first-generation college students.

“This scholarship means more to me than I believed an award could,” DeLeon said of the Goldwater Scholarship. “In the past, only the brightest people I have ever known were the ones that were capable of receiving such an honor. I never dreamed that I would be close to that unachievable level. This incredible recognition makes me feel that I am truly on the right track with where I need to be in life.”

Like Berry, DeLeon was nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship by Drs. Guy and Kim Caldwell. In their nomination of DeLeon, they stated that DeLeon had very little experience in a laboratory setting upon first arriving in their lab, but that she proved herself as a researcher early on.

“Last summer, following her freshman year, Susan battled her way through a very difficult and complicated protocol whereby she optimized protein-protein interaction screening in our laboratory,” said Dr. Kim Caldwell. “Susan was the first person in our lab to perform this procedure successfully – before any other graduate student or postdoctoral fellow in our group.”

DeLeon plans to stay in the Caldwell Lab until graduation and from there will attend graduate school to obtain a doctorate.

“I hope to stay on track where I’m going,” said DeLeon. “I want to continue to work as hard as I can and become as involved as I can in my lab experience. I have an excessive thirst for knowledge, so that shouldn’t be too difficult. Since I was a sophomore in high school, I have also wanted to go into cancer research and make a significant contribution to the field.”