Katarina Aranguiz, a junior majoring in biochemistry with a certificate in data science, is one of four University of Wisconsin–Madison students named winners of 2024 Goldwater Scholarships, the premier undergraduate scholarship in mathematics, engineering, and the natural sciences in the United States.
The scholarship program honors the late Sen. Barry Goldwater and is designed to foster and encouraged outstanding students to pursue research careers.
“I’m so proud of these four immensely talented scholars and all they’ve accomplished,” says Julie Stubbs, director of UW’s Office of Undergraduate Academic Awards. “Their success also reflects well on a campus culture that prioritizes hands-on research experiences for our undergraduates and provides strong mentoring in mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences.”
A Goldwater Scholarship provides as much as $7,500 each year for up to two years of undergraduate study. A total of 438 Goldwater Scholars were selected this year from a field of 1,353 students nominated by their academic institutions.
Aranguiz transferred to UW–Madison after completing her freshman year at UCLA, where she was part of an honors-level academic community that introduces students to cutting-edge biological sciences research. At UW–Madison, Aranguiz works in Professor Chris Todd Hittinger’s genetics lab, which is part of the Wisconsin Energy Institute and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Building on prior wet lab and genetic engineering experience, Aranguiz leads the lab’s efforts in using machine learning approaches to understand phenotypic variation across diverse yeast species for clinical and industrial applications. Aranguiz received a Sophomore Research Fellowship from the Provost’s Office and an award from the National Hispanic Scholarship Fund recognizing her potential to become a leader in the life sciences. She plans to pursue a PhD in computational biology and a research career furthering the development of sustainable bioproducts.
Read the original news release on the UW News website.
Photo: UW–Madison undergraduates (from left to right) Max Khanov, Nathan Wagner, Katarina Aranguiz, and Scott Chang have been awarded 2024 Goldwater Scholarships for their excellence in mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences. Photo credit: Taylor Wolfram.