STEM students nominated for national scholarships

Michigan State University has nominated four outstanding undergraduate STEM students for the nationally competitive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

Each year, the Goldwater Foundation seeks scholars committed to a career in science, mathematics or engineering who display intellectual intensity and who have the potential for significant future contribution in their chosen field. Those students are given funding for undergraduate tuition and living expenses. 

MSU nominees are:

• Nahid, or Anna, Baghdadi, an Honors College junior majoring in chemistry in the College of Natural Science. She is a student researcher in the lab of Anna Moore, assistant dean of the College of Human Medicine.
• Mohit Bansil, an Honors College junior majoring in advanced mathematics in the College of Natural Science. He is a student researcher in the Department of Mathematics with assistant professor Jun Kitagawa. 
• Abigail Otwell, an Honors College sophomore majoring in neuroscience and genomics and molecular genetics in the Lyman Briggs College. She is a student researcher in the lab of Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics assistant professor Yann Dufour.
• Emily Steffke, an Honors College junior majoring in neuroscience in the College of Natural Science and English in the College of Arts and Letters. She is a student researcher in the labs of assistant professor A.J. Robison and assistant professor Michelle Mazei-Robison. Robison and Mazei-Robison are affiliated with the Neuroscience Program and Department of Physiology.

MSU has produced 44 Goldwater Scholars since the scholarship program was established by Congress in 1986. 

“All four students have made undergraduate STEM research a part of their MSU experience,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, dean of the MSU Honors College. “Michigan State University is proud of the work these students are doing alongside our great faculty and congratulate them on earning this honor.”

The National/International Fellowships and Scholarships, or NIFS, Office, administered by the Honors College, helps interested undergraduate and graduate students pursue major national and international opportunities by providing information and direct support throughout the competitive application processes.