Four Notre Dame students have been named as Goldwater Scholars this year. The Goldwater Scholarship is a prestigious national scholarship for students pursuing careers in STEM, involved in current and previous research and demonstrating high promise in the field of scientific discoveries.
The process to receive the scholarship requires a minimum 3.7 GPA, a lengthy writeup on applicants’ significant research experiences and a direct nomination from a representative of their college.
Juniors Jacob Finley, John Howe, Thomas Reimer and Connor Smith were awarded the 2025 scholarship.
Finley, an honors track physics-in-medicine major in the College of Science, discussed the importance of grounding his work in the common and applicable good of the medical field.
“I’ve always been interested in computation and always wanted to apply it in the medical field,” Finley said. “I actually started as a math major and thought that was a bit too abstract and switched into physics. I wanted to ground my research in practicality, and so radiation oncology, I found, was the best medium between these computational goals and ways to help people medicate.”
Finley emphasized the importance of identifying one’s academic strengths and interests and focusing on them, rather than simply increasing the number of activities on a resume.
“I started the research game my sophomore year. So, I’m very fortunate to have accrued enough results to qualify for this scholarship,” Finley said. “I wish I had started a bit earlier. But that ultimately just comes down to when you can discern what you actually want to do, and for me that wasn't until between freshman year and sophomore year.”
Howe, an electrical engineering major, indicated that his own research work has led to the discovery of new chemical reactions.
“We actually found a new chemical reaction, and it was really interesting. But that was definitely more abstract than just general chemistry and material science nowadays,” Howe said.
Howe said that his love for science has been his primary motivation throughout a successful academic career.
“I really liked physics, so I took physics in high school. I did robotics in high school as well, but I just really liked something about the way physics works,” Howe said. “I just felt like I got it, like I could see myself within electrical engineering.”
Reimer, a chemistry major on the honors track in the College of Science, said that his inclination toward a scientific field began when he was a young child. However, he was unable to tangibly realize his interest until a Notre Dame professor showed him the possibilities.
“The very first classroom exposure that I had was with a professor named Seth Brown, who’s a very good teacher. He’s probably the best lecturer I’ve had in terms of his animation and his communicating abilities, and I think he really solidified my interest in the subject just by showing how much you can do with it,” Reimer said.
Smith, a Glynn Family Honors Program scholar and an honors track physics major in the College of Science, expressed that his own research has been a continual process that he hopes to dedicate more effort toward in the future.
“I started research in the summer of my freshman year,” Smith said “I’ve been working with the same lab from the end of my freshman year through to now, and I’m going to continue. They’re going to be the lab I do my senior thesis with.”
Smith said that awards like the Goldwater Scholarship are wonderful ways for students to be reminded that their work has a greater social impact.
“I’ve put a lot of time and effort into the lab, and so it was very fulfilling to have a lot of that work come into fruition in the way that it has with the award,” Smith said. “It has sort of reaffirmed, in my mind, the idea that it is something that I can do in a career. There is a need for this.”
The recipients will receive up to $7,500 in scholarship funding each for their senior years.
