CEAT student Bias named 2022 Goldwater Scholar
Monday, December 5, 2022
Media Contact: Kristi Wheeler | Manager, CEAT Marketing and Communications | 405-744-5831 | kristi.wheeler@okstate.edu
Chemical engineering student Alexandria Bias was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship for 2022 in March.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering in the nation.
Bias, a native of Orlando, Florida, is a senior triple majoring in chemical engineering, mathematics and political science. She has been engaged in undergraduate research in mechanochemistry and condensed matter physics labs, and she currently is involved in Dr. Chris Fennell’s computational chemistry and molecular modeling lab as a Niblack Research Scholar (NRS).
The NRS program provides support to Oklahoma State University undergraduate students to conduct research in one of OSU’s laboratories under the general guidance of a member of the research faculty and with day-to-day mentoring by a graduate student.
“The Goldwater Scholarship represents an acknowledgement of my hard work up to this point and the chance to pursue future opportunities that may not have been possible otherwise,” Bias said. “I am so excited to see what doors are unlocked for future research thanks to the support of OSU in helping me achieve this award.”
Bias was named a 2019 CEAT W.W. Allen Scholar, a CEAT Scholar, is a member of the President’s Leadership Council and is a peer mentor in CEAT.
She also served as vice president of the Student Government Association.
Bias plans to pursue a doctorate in chemistry with a focus on the quantum mechanical behavior of chemical reactions.
“I plan to pursue a graduate education, first working for an MPhil at the University of Cambridge through the CEAT W.W. Allen Scholarship, and then achieving a Ph.D. in chemistry so that I can continue doing research and be at the forefront of discovery in a future career in academia,” Bias said.
Bias is OSU’s 30th Goldwater Scholar. She was selected from a pool of 1,242 applicants from 433 institutions across the country, and only one of two from Oklahoma. She will receive up to $7,500 for her recognition as a Goldwater Scholar.
The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate.
Over its 30-year history, Goldwater Scholarships have been awarded to thousands of undergraduates, many of whom have gone on to win other prestigious awards like the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship, Rhodes Scholarship, Churchill Scholarship, and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate fellowship that support scholars’ graduate school work.
Today, Goldwater alumni can be found conducting research that is helping defend the nation, finding cures for catastrophic diseases and teaching future generations of scientists, mathematicians and engineers.
Photo: Jason Wallace
Story by Kristi Wheeler | IMPACT Magazine