Rice juniors earn Goldwater gold
Three earn scholarships for math, science, engineering prowess

BY MIKE WILLIAMS
Rice News staff

Three Rice juniors are among 278 American students named Goldwater Scholars by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

	JOSEPH ROSENTHAL
	THOMAS SEGALL-SHAPIRO
	DAVID OUYANG

Joseph Rosenthal, Brown College; Thomas Segall-Shapiro, Jones College; and David Ouyang, Baker College, will each receive a $7,500 scholarship, awarded for their academic excellence in mathematics, science and engineering.

Brian Henderson, a Jones College junior, earned an honorable mention.

Rosenthal, a Houston native and bioengineering major, said the Goldwater scholarship is “an affirmation of my approach to the Rice experience: dedication and passion for learning and research.”

His focus while at Rice has been on cellular and molecular bioengineering, with independent research in viral bionanotechnology. An officer of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars at Rice, he intends to continue his biotech studies after graduation.

Ouyang, who hails from Katy, is a double major in biochemistry and statistics with a minor in financial computation and modeling. He plans to attend medical school. “My dream would be to combine my interest in genetic engineering and synthetic biology with the ability to help people on a local level through biomedicine,” he said.

“To me, studying at Rice has been an unparalleled experience of amazing opportunities and open doors.”

Of the award, Ouyang said he is “humbled to be in the company of so many amazing future scientists and researchers.”

Segall-Shapiro, a native of Chevy Chase, Md., who also studies bioengineering, said the financial award will help pay the bills, but “winning something on the national scale is cool. It’ll be even more valuable when I’m applying for grad school.”

Both Ouyang and Segall-Shapiro were part of Rice’s award-winning BioBeer project, which gained worldwide attention last fall.

Faculty members at Rice nominated the recipients. The scholarship was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years of service in the U.S. Senate.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency that has awarded nearly 6,000 scholarships over the past 21 years. It aims to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields.