A pair of Swarthmore students recently received recognition from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation: Mackinsey Smith '19 was named a Goldwater Scholar while Deondre Jordan '19 garnered honorable mention.

Smith, an Honors chemistry and mathematics major from Austin, Tex., plans to pursue a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry and to conduct environmentally relevant chemistry research at a National Laboratory and in the NASA astronaut program. Jordan, an Honors chemistry major from Philadelphia, Pa., has the goal of obtaining a M.D./Ph.D. with the hope of becoming a physician scientist specializing in structural biology with a joint focus on medical research and clinical work.

"I hope that by the end of this summer I will have a paper to publish in a scientific journal," says Smith. "I will also be writing a thesis next year and applying for graduate school as well as the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. I feel very prepared to tackle these pursuits because of Swarthmore and opportunities such as the Goldwater."

"I was excitedly shocked that I was recognized by the Goldwater committee—and I could not wait to share the great news with my research advisor and mentor, Liliya Yatsunyk," says Jordan.

Awarded to outstanding sophomores and juniors planning on careers in math, science, and engineering, the Goldwater Scholarship provides up to $7,500 toward tuition, room, and board. This year, the Goldwater Foundation bestowed the honor on 211 students out of 1,280 applications.