Attleboro Resident Brandon Clark Earns Honorable Mention in Prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation Program
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Worcester, Mass. ??? May 11, 2016 ??? Worcester Polytechnic Institute student Brandon Clark of Attleboro, Mass. is a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering and electrical and computer engineering and plans to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering. Brandon recently received Honorable Mention from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence Foundation Program, a national distinction that recognizes outstanding students pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.
Brandon???s professional goals include conducting research on materials for energy production and teaching at the university level. He hopes to become the lead researcher of chemical engineering or materials science laboratory at a university, with a focus on integrating novel materials into energy systems. He also plans to serve as advisor for a student chapter of Engineers Without Borders or a similar club that engages in sustainable engineering projects.
Clark has been conducting research with Amy Peterson, assistant professor of chemical engineering, studying how quickly a biological molecule moves through various combinations of electrically charged and mechanically entangled layers of chemicals called polyelectrolytes. His research is relevant to creating more controlled ways of delivering medications in the body???for example, coating a bone implant with a drug that stimulates bone growth, and being able to control the rate at which the drug is released into the body.??
This year 252 Goldwater Scholars and 256 Honorable Mentions were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,150 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by representatives of 415 colleges and universities nationwide.
Since 2002, 24 WPI students have been named Scholars or received Honorable Mention in the Goldwater Scholarship Program.
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence Foundation Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor U.S. Sen. Barry M. Goldwater. The recognition is widely considered to be the premier undergraduate award in the science, math, and engineering fields.
About Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation???s first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor???s, master???s and doctoral degrees. WPI’s talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university’s innovative Global Perspective Program. There are now more than 45 WPI project centers in the Americas, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Europe.