Engineering Student Named Goldwater Scholar

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Jimmy Vo, 2012 Goldwater Scholar

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jimmy Vo of the University of Arkansas has been named a 2012 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Foundation. Vo is a junior from Fort Smith. He is an honors student majoring in biological engineering in the College of Engineering.

This is the 17th consecutive year that a University of Arkansas student has earned a Goldwater Scholarship. In that time a total of 46 University of Arkansas students, including Vo, have received this highly competitive award.

Goldwater Scholars are selected from a field of more than a thousand outstanding mathematics, science and engineering students who are planning careers in scientific research. The scholars are chosen on the basis of academic merit and research experience. They must also have strong support from a research mentor. They receive a $7,500 scholarship for the next academic year.

Vo is an Honors College Fellow and a Distinguished Governor’s Scholar who is conducting undergraduate research with his mentor, professor David Zaharoff. Vo’s research focuses on preventing breast cancer metastasis. Vo has given poster presentations at national meetings, including the Biomedical Engineering Society’s national meeting and the American Association for Cancer Research meeting. He has studied abroad in Belize and India and is planning to pursue a Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy. He plans to participate in the newly created biomedical engineering program at the University of Arkansas next year. 

“Jimmy Vo is a stellar student, like so many at the University of Arkansas, and is working very hard toward ambitious long-term goals. His work with David Zaharoff is exceptional, and Jimmy hopes that it will eventually lead to cutting-edge cancer research,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “I am confident that it will. I am very proud of him and of all the students who were recognized by the Goldwater Scholarship Foundation.” 

Universities can nominate up to four undergraduates in their sophomore or junior years to be Goldwater Scholars. In addition to Vo, the foundation recognized an additional three University of Arkansas students with Honorable Mention awards.

Raven Bough of Fayetteville is an honors horticulture major in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. She is conducting research with her mentor, Curt Rom, on various ground covers and their effect on organic farming. She is a Distinguished Governor’s Scholar and a Rotary Scholar and has received a research grant from the Honors College to continue work on her ground cover study. She plans to earn a doctorate at the University of California-Davis or Oregon State University and pursue a career in plant genetics and breeding with the intent to improve crop sustainability.

Katelin Cherry of Oklahoma City is an honors junior biological engineering major in the College of Engineering, and her research mentor is Jeffrey Wolchok. She is conducting research on skeletal tissues and the ability to recreate muscles from skeletal cells. She is a Chancellor’s Scholar and has also received an Honors College research grant as well as a grant to study abroad in Belize. Her goal is to earn a doctorate at Duke University and become a research scientist studying muscle and tissue regeneration.

Christopher Peterson of Ocean Springs, Miss., is an honors junior biology major in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. He is a Sturgis Fellow and received an Honors College Study Abroad Grant to study ecology in Costa Rica. His mentor is Stephen Beaupre. Peterson’s research focuses on gastrointestinal tract bacteria found in timber rattlesnakes in order to better understand these functions in wild vertebrates, information that could improve wildlife management and conservation strategies. Peterson plans to pursue a doctorate in biology and conduct research in conservation and ecology. He hopes to teach and conduct research at the university level.

“The students honored this year represent three different academic colleges as well as the Honors College, pointing to the collaborative research with faculty that undergraduates across this campus enjoy,” said Provost Sharon Gaber. “That our students consistently compete successfully for these scholarships speaks volumes about the kind of preparation they are receiving here. The students and their mentors as well as their departments and colleges should be incredibly proud of the research they are doing now and the work they will do in the future to address complex questions in their fields of study.”

Previous university Goldwater Scholars have gone on to become Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge, and Fulbright Scholars; nine have become National Science Graduate Fellows. They have pursued doctoral work at prestigious programs including University of Virginia, University of Michigan, University of California-Berkeley, Cambridge University, Columbia University, Cornell University, MIT, St. Andrews (Scotland), Oxford, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford University and Washington University.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor former Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, and the first scholarships were awarded in 1988. The purpose of the program is 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.