LSU has nominated four students for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, considered the most prestigious undergraduate award available to STEM sophomores and juniors.
Rohin Gilman and Henry Kantrow, of Baton Rouge; Brianna Robertson, of Slidell; and Noah Smith of Birmingham, Alabama, will compete with students from across the country to be named a 2020 Goldwater Scholar.
Goldwater Scholars are awarded one- and two-year $7,500 stipends to pursue undergraduate research in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering. To apply for the scholarship, students must demonstrate extensive research experience and submit a research essay that demonstrates their interest and ability in their fields. Four students are selected annually for nomination through an internal competition at LSU.
Gilman, of Baton Rouge, is an Ogden Honors College sophomore studying mathematics with a minor in computer science in the College of Science. His research stems from his interest in numerical methods. He has conducted research that demonstrates how the Chernoff Product Formula can be used to approximate solutions of initial value problems for fully non-linear differential equations, using Koopman’s global linearization approach. Gilman conducts his research under mathematics professor Frank Neubrander.
After graduation, Gilman plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics and conduct research while teaching at the university level.
Kantrow is an Ogden Honors College junior studying chemical engineering in the College of Engineering. Kantrow’s research involves the design of motor and vacuum equipment that allows near monodispersity of previously polydisperse polystyrene nanosphere arrays by using hole-mask colloidal nanolithography, resulting in a low-cost method for nearly monodisperse, sub-wavelength hole arrays.
After graduation, Kantrow plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and conduct research with sustainability applications at a university or government agency.
Robertson is an Ogden Honors College junior studying physics in the College of Science and computer engineering in the LSU College of Engineering. After graduation, Robertson plans to pursue a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and perform industry-level research and development in space-related fields.
Smith is an Ogden Honors College junior studying chemical engineering in the LSU College of Engineering. After graduation, Smith plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, teach at the university level, conduct research across multiple STEM fields and mentor students to be successful researchers.
Goldwater recipients will be announced March 27.