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Westminster Honors Students Awarded Honorable Mention Status in Goldwater Scholarship Competition

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Posted on Wednesday, April 12, 2017

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation has announced 240 new Goldwater Scholars and identified 307 students as Honorable Mentions. For 30 years, Goldwater Scholarships have been awarded to thousands of undergraduates pursuing careers in STEM research. Westminster College honors students Tyler Heintz ’18 and Audrey Nickle ’18 were granted Honorable Mention status in the 2017 Goldwater Scholarship competition.

Heintz and Nickle were recruited and nominated by 1994 Goldwater scholar Dr. Craig Caylor, associate professor of physics at Westminster. Dr. Caylor serves as Westminster’s campus representative and aids nominees throughout the application process. Each student was selected based on academic excellence and promising undergraduate research.

Tyler Heintz, a physics and mathematics major, is a son of Jeffrey and Jill Heintz and a graduate of Boardman High School. Heintz collaborated with Dr. Thomas Oberst, associate professor of physics, on their research involving the detection of exoplanets. He will be researching exoplanets further this summer at the University of Salerno, Italy, through Westminster’s NSF IRES grant program.

Audrey Nickle, a molecular biology major, is a daughter of John and Carol Nickle and a graduate of Carlisle High School. Nickle teamed with Dr. Karen Resendes, associate professor of biology to research the molecular mechanism behind the function of some chemotherapy drugs.

“I am both proud and honored by Audrey Nickle's selection for an Honorable Mention for the Goldwater Scholarship Program,” added Dr. Resendes. “Audrey is a standout student who excels not only in the classroom, but also as a research scientist, which is the emphasis of this award.”

In order to be nominated for the Goldwater Scholarship, each nominee must be a current sophomore or junior; have at least a 3.0 GPA and be in the top 25% of their class; must have US citizenship/permanent residency; and must have an interest in a career in mathematics, natural sciences, or engineering.

Each 4-year college/university can nominate up to four students to be considered for an award. Visit https://goldwater.scholarsapply.org/ to learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship.

For more information, contact Dr. Craig Caylor at caylorcl@westminster.edu or 724-946-7202.