Two University of Chicago Chemistry Department undergraduate students have received 2024 Goldwater Scholarships, awarded to second- or third-year students planning research careers in mathematics, natural sciences, or engineering.
Out of the three UChicago students honored this year, 2024 Goldwater Scholars are Sarah Kress, an undergraduate researcher of the Engel Group, and Joshua Pixley, an undergraduate researcher of the Bryan Dickinson Lab.
They are among the 438 students named 2024 Goldwater Scholars from 1,353 undergraduate students nominated by 446 academic institutions in the United States, according to the Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation. Each scholarship provides as much as $7,500 each year for as many as two years of undergraduate study.
The students applied for the Goldwater Scholarship with assistance from UChicago’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships. Since the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships opened in 2015, UChicago has had twenty-four Goldwater Scholars named since Congress established the scholarship in 1986 to honor U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater. Out of those twenty four scholars, seven have come from the Chemistry Department.
Sarah Kress is a third-year majoring in Chemistry. Her work focuses on solving challenges in sustainable synthesis via catalyst design from a physical chemistry perspective. She was honored as a 2023-24 Research Scholar for her project, “Rational Design of Redox Mediators for Selective Ketone Cyclization” under the mentorship of Assistant Professor Anna Wuttig. She currently serves as a Chemistry Undergraduate Researcher in the Gregory Engel Group. After graduating, Sarah plans to pursue a PhD in Chemistry and eventually lead a research group of her own.
Joshua Pixley is a second-year majoring in Chemistry. As an undergraduate researcher in the Bryan Dickinson Lab, his research has focused on bacteriophage-based methods for the discovery and maturation of de novo high-affinity binders. He currently serves as co-president of Genehackers, a UChicago student-run organization that designs and executes independent synthetic biology research projects to compete in the annual worldwide iGEM competition. After graduating, Pixley plans to obtain a Ph.D. in Chemistry focused in Chemical Biology and to one day pursue a career in drug discovery and the development of novel therapeutics.