Two OU students have been named 2023 Goldwater Scholars. Named after US Senator Barry Goldwater, the award is the most prestigious undergraduate STEM research scholarship in the country. Wu and England are among 413 students recognized this year out of more than 12,000 nominees. They bring OU's total number of Goldwater Scholarship winners to 62 since the inception of the scholarship in 1986.
An Aerospace Engineering, Mathematics and Physics triple major with a 3.96 GPA, England plans to eventually earn a Ph.D. in high energy physics with an emphasis on quantum computing.
England’s recent research focuses on the relationship between electron temperature and ion charge states in solar wind. She has also conducted research in scanning strategy optimization for the Geostationary Carbon Cycle Observatory and into the effects of lightning strikes on the Space Launch System Vehicle at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
England attended high school at the Oklahoma Virtual Charter Academy in Oklahoma City and is the daughter of Trent and Cheryl England.
Wu, a junior double majoring in Chemistry and History, currently holds a 4.00 GPA. After graduating, Wu hopes to earn a M.D./Ph.D. before beginning a career based on discovering the underlying mechanisms of both diseases and their treatments.
Wu has conducted research into how drugs bind in complex samples by using Thermal Depletion with Hydrogen Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry. He has previously worked in a lab focused on the optimization of visible light spectroscopy-based SDS quantification/
From Edmond, Oklahoma, Wu attended Edmond Memorial High School. He is the son of Hannah Swallow and Dee Wu.
Named after U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater, the Goldwater Scholarships are awarded to college sophomores and juniors on the basis of potential and juniors on the basis of potential and intent to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The one- and two-year scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
