Benjamin Litterer, a junior in data science, has been named a 2021 Goldwater Scholar.
The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering in the United States. The scholarships are awarded by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in STEM research. A total of 410 Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of more than 5,000 applicants nationwide.
Benjamin plans to pursue a Ph.D. in statistics with an emphasis in bioinformatics. His goal is to become a faculty member at a research university and answer important questions in proteomics and genetics. His mentors are Distinguished Professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology Robert Jernigan, postdoctoral research associate in biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology Kejue Jia, and assistant professor of statistics Lynna Chu.
The one-year scholarships are available to juniors and the two-year scholarships are available to sophomores. They cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
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