Two undergraduates named Goldwater Scholars; two honorable mentions

Hannah Kempf and Carrie Tyler look at rock samples and a reference book together. — Hannah Kempf (left) is one of two Miami University students named 2017 Goldwater Scholars. The geology major is mentored by assistant professor of geology and environmental earth science Carrie Tyler (right).

Two Miami University students have each received a Goldwater Scholarship for 2017-2018. They are among 240 students nationwide to receive the scholarship, the premier undergraduate award of its type in the fields of mathematics, natural science and engineering.

Miami’s Goldwater Scholars are:

Jana Cable, a junior microbiology major from Bowling Green.
Hannah Kempf, a junior geology major and Spanish minor from Indianapolis, Indiana.

Honorable Mentions:

Avnika Bali, a junior biochemistry and biological physics double major and mathematics and neuroscience double minor from Oxford.
Max Leveridge, a second-year environmental earth sciences major with environmental science and sustainability co-majors from Dublin.

The Goldwater Scholarship

The Goldwater Foundation Scholarship Program encourages outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, natural sciences and engineering.

Nationwide, faculty nominated 1,286 students for the one- and two-year scholarships, worth up to $7,500 per year.

Cable and Kempf are two of eight students at an Ohio public university to receive a Goldwater Scholarship.

Bali and Leveridge are two of six students at an Ohio public university to receive an Honorable Mention.

Read profiles of Miami’s Goldwater Scholars and honorable mentions online.

Paul Urayma, professor of physics and Miami’s Goldwater faculty representative, said, “This is an amazing outcome for the students and for Miami University. Each institution is allowed to submit up to four nominations for national consideration. This is the second year in a row that all four of Miami’s nominees are acknowledged.”

Urayama, a 1993 Goldwater Scholar from the University of California-Irvine, was recently profiled on the Goldwater Scholars website. Read his profile online.

Written by Susan Meikle, Miami University News and Communications. Originally appeared as a “Top Story” on Miami University’s News and Events website.

Photos of Jana Cable and mentor Natosha Finley and Hannah Kempf and mentor Carrie Tyler by Jeff Sabo, Miami University Photo Services.