ASU student Matthew Brown wins Goldwater Scholarship

By Nicole Greason |
June 05, 2013

Matthew Brown, an Arizona State University physics and math major, has won the 2013-2014 Goldwater Scholarship.

The scholarship, presented by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500.

“I am very honored to have received the scholarship,” Brown, a senior, said, adding that after he achieves a bachelor’s degree next year, he intends to pursue a graduate degree and work in academe.

Brown’s goal is to complete a doctorate in mathematical physics and conduct research in theoretical and mathematical physics at a research institution.

“I hope the prestige of the Goldwater scholarship will help me achieve these goals,” he said.

Brown was selected from a field of 1,107 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The Goldwater Foundation awarded 271 scholarships for the 2013-2014 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from throughout the United States.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 1986. The scholarship program honors Sen. Barry Goldwater – a businessman and five-term U.S. senator from Arizona, and the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 1964 – and was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

In addition to Brown, another ASU student received recognition for his academic prowess.

Chris Murray, a senior majoring in molecular and cellular biology and a student in Barrett, The Honors College at ASU, received Honorable Mention from the Goldwater Foundation.

Murray plans to complete a doctorate focusing on the molecular and genetic basis of cancer. His goal is to conduct cancer research and administer his own university-affiliated research institution.