Leishman, Schaler Named Goldwater Scholars

Clark School undergraduate students Alexander Leishman (aerospace engineering) and Ethan Schaler (mechanical engineering) have been awarded 2010-11 Goldwater Scholarships. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier national award granted to undergraduate students majoring in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering who are interested in research careers.

Created by the U.S. Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Barry M. Goldwater, Goldwater Scholarships are designed to ensure the nation has a source of highly qualified scholars and researchers. Recipients are chosen based on academic merit, research experience and career objectives.

Leishman is a University Honors student in the aeronautics track and has maintained a 4.0 GPA. He worked for Prof. Derek Paley in the Collective Dynamics and Controls Laboratory on an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle testbed and is currently working for both Paley and Prof. Alison Flatau on a smart material tactile and flow sensor. He has worked in Peru as a member of Engineers Without Borders and currently serves as its fundraising coordinator. Leishman plans to earn a Ph.D. in aerospace, mechanical, or ocean engineering. His goal is to help advance the mechanical, sensing and systems design of submerged vehicles, through research in order to enhance our ability to explore and monitor bodies of water for scientific research.

Schaler is a junior with a 4.0 GPA. He is active in Engineers Without Borders, working on the Burkina Faso and Peru projects and co-leading a local project focused on storm-water management on the Anacostia River. He recently returned from Japan, having devoted two summers to research at RIKEN and a semester of study at Tohoku University. Schaler currently conducts research with Prof. Sarah Bergbreiter on MEMS fabrication. He plans to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering focusing on nanotechnology. Schaler would like to teach and conduct research on MEMS at a university or government research institute. He intends to focus post-graduate and career research on developing mobile (walking, jumping, flying, etc.) and networked micro-robots.

The full listing of 2010 Goldwater Scholars is available online: http://www.act.org/goldwater/sch-2010.html

Prof. Robert Infantino, associate dean in the College of Chemical and Life Sciences, is UM's Goldwater program faculty representative, and chaired the university's nomination and advising process.

Earlier this week, another Clark School undergraduate student also received national recognition: mechanical engineering junior Dylan Rebois was named a Truman Scholar.

Published March 31, 2010