Student researcher named MSU鈥檚 newest Goldwater Scholar
Contact: Sasha Steinberg
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擳wo 幺力视频 seniors are among those receiving prestigious recognition by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
Senior biological engineering/biomedical engineering major Jackson B. Coole of Picayune is the land-grant university鈥檚 third student in the past six years to receive the highly coveted Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Senior microbiology and chemistry double-major Sabrina E. Moore of Starkville is MSU鈥檚 eighth student in the past six years to receive honorable mention selection from the premier national scholarship organization.
Both students are members of the Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College at MSU.
Established in 1986, the Virginia-based Goldwater Foundation serves as a memorial to the former U.S. Republican senator from Arizona and 1964 presidential candidate. In annually recognizing undergraduate majors in science, mathematics, engineering and computer disciplines, it helps ensure a continuing source of highly qualified professionals in these fields. For more, visit .
MSU Professor of English Tommy Anderson, who serves as director of the university鈥檚 Office of Prestigious External Scholarships, thanked Shackouls Honors College Dean Chris Snyder, as well as Coole and Moore鈥檚 respective faculty mentors for their support in 鈥減romoting our best undergraduate scholars.鈥
Coole鈥檚 faculty mentors include Professor Thomas Cathcart in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Assistant Professor James Stewart in the Department of Biological Sciences.
Moore鈥檚 faculty mentors include Assistant Professor Justin Thornton in the Department of Biological Sciences and Assistant Professor Nick Fitzkee in the Department of Chemistry.
鈥淭hese faculty mentors across campus have provided amazing guidance to Jackson and Sabrina, who have presented their work in regional and national conferences and published their research聽in journals in their disciplines,鈥 Anderson said.
鈥淭heir success shows that our undergraduates are preparing to be leaders in science-related research at the national level,鈥 Anderson added.
Coole said participation in a Baylor University summer research program under Dr. Olivier Lichtarge sparked his interest in computational work, a passion he has further explored as part of his MSU experience.
鈥淎fter the summer research program, I thought of doing a computational work project back at 幺力视频, and it was encouraging that Dr. Stewart was so receptive to me doing my own idea,鈥 Coole said. 鈥淒r. Cathcart also was very helpful on the computational end.鈥
Coole plans to pursue a doctorate and later teach in academia. He said MSU fosters a strong environment for research opportunities and undergraduate research contributions.
鈥淚鈥檝e been able to conduct self-led work as an undergraduate student at 幺力视频 under two professors with different experiences. It has been exciting to learn new things together through research, and it鈥檚 taught me that I鈥檓 doing the right things to help my career,鈥 Coole said.
Since its inception, the foundation has recognized a total of 24 幺力视频 students鈥16 with the Goldwater Scholarship and eight with honorable mention awards.
For more about MSU鈥檚 Judy and Bobby Shackouls Honors College, visit or follow on Twitter @ShackoulsHonors.
MSU is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .