Clemson students earn prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

Published: June 25, 2012

CLEMSON — Two Clemson University students have been awarded the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering. Two students also received an honorable mention in the Goldwater Scholars competition.

The Clemson awardees are Marc-Andre Schaeuble of Simpsonville, a junior physics major, and Benjamin Ujcich of Myrtle Beach, a sophomore computer engineering major. Joel Clingempeel of Florence, a junior mathematical sciences major, and Julie Robinson of Cary, N.C., a sophomore chemical engineering major, received honorable mentions.

Nationally, 282 Goldwater Scholars were selected for the 2012-13 academic year from a field of 1,123 students nominated by college and university faculties.

The Goldwater scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 for an academic year. The federally endowed scholarship program is designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

Schaeuble is conducting research with physic and astronomy professor Jeremy King on high-precision measurements of chemical abundances in different types of stars. These measurements will allow researchers to derive the chemical evolution of these particular stars. Schaeuble also is working with professor Sean Brittain on researching stars that could potentially harbor exoplanets. This work focuses on studying certain conditions in and around the star that are needed to create exoplanets.

Ujcich is involved with Clemson’s OpenFlow research team. OpenFlow allows for centralized control of a computer network to provide greater flexibility and manageability on the parts of researchers. His research team is working on creating a data-analysis network for the university to analyze overall campus traffic and potentially identify security vulnerabilities, among other applications.

Ricki Shine, associate director of the Calhoun Honors College at Clemson, said 13 Clemson students have won Goldwater Scholarships in the past five years and five others have received honorable mentions.

The Goldwater Scholarship is considered the premier undergraduate award of its type in the fields of mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences.

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