Awards and Rankings
April 4, 2024
Three University of Portland students—Cade McDonald, Katie Newton and Anna Singley—are among 508 college students nationwide chosen to receive a prestigious Goldwater Scholarship for their achievements and future promise in STEM research fields.
(Left to Right) Cade McDonald, Katie Newton and Anna Singley
McDonald, Newton and Singley are the first UP students since 2014 to receive a Goldwater Scholarship, according to Cara Hersh, PhD, the University’s assistant provost of scholarly engagement and career readiness. Established by Congress in 1986 to honor the lifetime work of U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, the scholarship is awarded to college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
McDonald, a junior nursing and biology major from Scappoose, Ore., transitioned from the clinical side of nursing to pursue opportunities in cancer management research. He was selected to participate in the competitive Murdock Scholars program, where he has led two presentations and produced one manuscript in a lab assignment at Oregon Health Sciences University.
Newton, a junior chemistry major from Sacramento, Calif., is planning a research career in the field of medicinal chemistry. In the summer after her first year on The Bluff, Newton joined a math research team that investigated opioid addition. After her sophomore year, Newton secured an Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) in chemical biology at New York University.
Singley, a sophomore mathematics major and philosophy minor from Minier, Ill., has conducted award-winning research in the field of mathematical epidemiology. She puts her math and research skills to work for the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the National Nuclear Security Administration, and is currently working with the Oregon Health Authority to study the relationship between air pollution and diagnosis rates.
“UP is incredibly proud of each one of these thoughtful, hardworking and impressive student STEM researchers and we can’t wait to see what they accomplish in their future careers,” Hersh said. “We are also so grateful for these students’ undergraduate research mentors who pushed, taught and believed in them.
“The fact that UP has three Goldwater recipients this year is a testament to the strong undergraduate research opportunities available to our students.”
According to the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, “virtually all” of its 2024 scholarship recipients plan to obtain a PhD. Goldwater Scholars have gone on become Rhodes Scholars, National Science Foundation Research Fellows, National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellows, Hertz Fellows, Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellows, Astronaut Scholars, Churchill Scholars and Marshall Scholars.
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