Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation

Three Rutgers University–New Brunswick students have been named 2019 Goldwater Scholars, the 14th consecutive year Rutgers–New Brunswick students have earned the honor. The scholarships support undergraduates heading toward careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. Mariya Galochkina (center), a Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College junior studying marine geology and geophysics in the School of Arts and Sciences, focuses on how knowledge of ancient climate change informs our understanding of current and future climate change. Rikab Gambhir (left), a Rutgers–New Brunswick Honors College and School of Engineering junior majoring in physics and mechanical engineering, intends to pursue a doctoral degree in physics. Brandon Gomes (right), a sophomore majoring in physics and mathematics in the School of Arts and Sciences, plans on becoming a physics professor.

HARRY S. TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIP FOUNDATION

Aasha ShaikAasha Shaik, an Honors College junior majoring in political science and Middle Eastern studies at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, has been named a 2019 Truman Scholar. Truman scholarships are highly competitive and awarded to U.S. undergraduate students who have demonstrated leadership potential, academic excellence, and a commitment to public service. Shaik, who is the 11th Rutgers student to receive this elite scholarship, said she plans to pursue joint law and master of public policy degrees, and work as a trial attorney in the areas of civil and/or human rights.

Gates Cambridge Trust

Sridhar SriramSridhar Sriram, a Rutgers University–New Brunswick double major in computer science and public policy, with a concentration in urban informatics, has been named a 2019 Gates Cambridge Scholar. Sriram will pursue graduate study at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, where he hopes to focus on bias in technology that affects results from online search engines and social media platforms. A member of the School of Arts and Sciences honors program, Sriram has worked as a teaching assistant for a graduate-level data science course at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and served as a resident assistant for three years. He is a member of the Google Community Leaders Program and a member of the Cap and Skull Honor Society. He was also a participant in the Harvard Kennedy School of Public Policy Leadership Conference. Sriram is the 11th Rutgers student to be awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship since the Office of Distinguished Fellowships was established 12 years ago, and the 12th overall.

PAT TILLMAN FOUNDATION

Saul BautistaSaul Bautista, a recent dual-degree graduate of Rutgers’ New Jersey Medical School and School of Public Health, has been named a 2019 Tillman Scholar. A 2004 U.S. Army enlistee, Bautista’s work with wounded soldiers at the Army’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany sparked his interest in medicine.  With his career path set, Bautista earned a B.S. in biology from Rutgers University–Newark before going on to pursue an M.D./Master of Public of Health. Bautista is now a medical resident in internal medicine and pediatrics at Prisma Health/University of South Carolina. The Tillman Scholars program supports higher education for outstanding active-duty service members, veterans, and military spouses. Bautista is Rutgers’ fifth Tillman Scholar.

Schwarzman Scholars

Mussab Ali Nick PellittaHaogang YuA recent Rutgers graduate and two seniors have won a top prize for graduate study in China. (Left to right) Rutgers University–Newark senior Mussab Ali, Rutgers University–New Brunswick senior Nick Pellitta, and Rutgers–New Brunswick alumnus Haoyang Yu will study at Tsinghua University in Beijing as 2020 Schwarzman Scholars—Rutgers’ first. The trio is a standout group. Ali, a 2017 Truman Scholar, is the youngest person elected to the Jersey City school board. Economics and political science major Pellitta hopes to serve in public office and improve the lives of people in New Jersey. Yu leads a team at Goldman Sachs as a senior analyst in derivatives processing engineering. As Schwarzman Scholars, the students will concentrate in public policy, economics and business, or international studies and spend a year engaged in cultural immersion, travel, leadership training, and work with mentors and top business leaders.

Gates Cambridge Trust

Michael AntosiewiczMichael Antosiewicz, a double major in classics and history in the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, has been awarded a 2018 Gates Cambridge Scholarship to pursue graduate study at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. He is Rutgers’ 10th Gates Cambridge Scholar in the past 11 years, and 11th overall. The Gates Cambridge Trust selects approximately 40 scholars every year from the United States.

Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation

Maine Christos and Nicholas PagePhysics and math major Maine Christos and cell biology and neuroscience major Nicholas Page, both students at Rutgers University–New Brunswick’s School of Arts and Sciences, are among 211 students selected nationwide as Goldwater Scholars for the 2018–2019 academic year. Endowed by the federal government, the Goldwater Scholarship is the top undergraduate award of its kind in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. In the past 11 years, 23 Rutgers students have been awarded Goldwaters.

Skadden Fellowship Foundation

Joanna GardnerThird-year Rutgers Law School student Joanna Gardner has been awarded a 2018 Skadden Fellowship to pursue the practice of public interest law on a full-time basis after graduation. As a Skadden fellow, Gardner will work at HIAS Pennsylvania with a focus on direct representation and community outreach on behalf of immigrant victims of severe domestic violence. Her work will include helping clients secure humanitarian immigration relief as survivors of trafficking and access benefits that will empower them to live independently. The highly competitive Skadden Foundation postgraduate fellowships provide two years of full-time funding to graduating students who wish to pursue projects at public interest organizations that will improve legal services for the poor.

Graphic Design USA

Kelley BrennanKelley Brennan, a Rutgers University–Camden double major in graphic design and marketing, is one of only 73 students to be selected nationally and the only student from a New Jersey institution to be named one of Graphic Design USA’s Students to Watch for 2018.
 

Atlantis and Gilman International Scholarships

Alexandra Torres and Bakhtawer KahnTwo Rutgers University–Newark Honors College juniors became the only New Jersey students to win early-round Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to study abroad in 2018. Premedical students and best friends Alexandra Torres and Bakhtawer Kahn are both majoring in biology and conducting research in the Mena Laboratory of Neural Circuits, which is affiliated with the Rutgers–Newark Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience. In 2017, the duo decided they wanted to study abroad together and zeroed in on Atlantis, a Washington, D.C.–based organization that partners with U.S. universities to send premed students overseas to shadow practicing physicians. But the Atlantis opportunity isn’t free, and when Torres and Khan decided to apply, they approached the Honors College director to seek possible funding sources to cover the program's costs. The Gilman International Scholarships, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, will help the women defray costs of the Atlantis program.

Junior Varsity debate Novice National Championship

Rutgers University–Newark Debate Team members David Asafu-Adjaye and Adegoke Fakorede joined forces to capture the 2018 Junior Varsity Novice National Championship, held at West Virginia University. On the way to victory, the pair defeated teams from Cornell University, NYU, Vanderbilt University, West Virginia University, and George Mason University, ultimately besting Liberty University to take the top spot.

Hult Prize Foundation

Hult Prize winnersRutgers Business School senior Gia Farooqi and alumni Hanaa Lakhani, Moneeb Mian, and Hasan Usmani (left to right with former President Bill Clinton) won the 2017 $1 million Hult Prize Challenge to create a start-up that would help 1 million refugees by 2022. In a six-minute pitch, the Rutgers team detailed a compelling plan for Roshni Rides, a business to provide electric-powered rickshaws in refugee settlements as an affordable hop-on, hop-off way for residents to travel to jobs, schools, and vital services, such as hospitals and markets. The team bested finalists from Harvard, Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, the University of Waterloo, the University of Calgary, and York University to claim the top prize. In March they won the regional competition in Boston besting teams from 70 schools including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the London School of Economics. During the regional competition, Farooqi, Mian, and Usmani were all students and Lakhani was a recent graduate, class of 2016. With the Boston win, they advanced to the global September 2017 finals.

Gates cambridge trust

Chelsie RicheAs a senior in the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Chelsie Riche was named a 2017 Gates Cambridge Scholar. Riche was one of 36 students nationwide awarded the scholarship that supports graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Riche's plans include pursuing a master’s degree in African studies.

Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation

Viktor KrapivinViktor Krapivin, a junior physics and mathematics major in the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, was  named a Goldwater Scholar for 2017–2018. Krapivin was the 21st Goldwater Scholar from Rutgers in the past 10 years; his award marked 12 consecutive years that a Rutgers student has earned the scholarship. With his award, Rutgers physics and astronomy undergraduates had won 14 Goldwater Scholarships overall, including the last eight years in a row.

Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation

Ali MussabMussab Ali, a junior majoring in neurobiology and economics at Rutgers University–Newark, has been named a 2017 Truman Scholar. An Honors College student, Ali is Rutgers University–Newark’s first Truman Scholar and the 10th from Rutgers University overall. The scholarship will support Ali’s pursuit of a graduate degree in health policy.

Computing Research Association

Hoon OhHoon Oh, a senior computer science major at Rutgers University–Camden, has earned a 2017 Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher Award from the Computing Research Association, one of the top honors in the United States awarded to an undergraduate student majoring in computer science. Oh is the first Rutgers University–Camden student to earn the award, which recognizes undergraduate students who show outstanding research potential in an area of computing research.

Poets & Quants for undergrads

Lauren KellyZoe MakropoulosChanel ClarkeJorge PanequeFour Rutgers Business School undergraduates—two from RBS–Newark and two from RBS–New Brunswick—have been named to the Poets & Quants list of the "Best and Brightest Business Majors, Class of 2017." Poets & Quants bestowed the honor on 100 students from 49 schools across the nation. Rutgers and Cornell University landed the most students on the list, tying at four each. The Rutgers students are (left to right) Lauren Kelly and Zoe Makropoulos of RBS–New Brunswick and Chanel Clarke and Jorge Paneque of RBS–Newark.

Cross Examination Debate Association National Tournament and National Debate Tournament

Devane Murphy and Nicole NaveRutgers University–Newark debaters hold not one but two national titles, making them one of only two teams in U.S. history to win both the Cross Examination Debate Association’s (CEDA) National Tournament and the National Debate Tournament in a single year. At the 2017 CEDA tournament, debate pair Devane Murphy and Nicole Nave defeated close to 100 of the nation’s best teams. At the invitational National Debate Tournament sponsored by the American Forensic Association with the Ford Motor Company Fund, the two placed first among 78 teams.

United States Federal Reserve

College Fed ChallengeBesting Dartmouth, Princeton, the University of Chicago, and Appalachian State, a team of Rutgers University–New Brunswick undergraduates won the 13th annual national College Fed Challenge held in December 2016 in Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the Rutgers–New Brunswick Department of Economics and advised by professor emeritus of economics Jeffrey Rubin (far left in photo), the Rutgers team (left to right, surrounding Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen) included School of Arts and Sciences student Ali Haider Ismail (economics and mathematics), Rutgers Business School student Andrew Lee (finance), and School of Arts and Sciences students Shivram Viswanathan (economics and mathematics), Karn Dalal (economics and biomathematics), and Ashton Welles (computer science and economics).

CME Group Trading Challenge

CME teamRutgers Business School graduate students (left to right) Jiachen Chu, Chengran Su, Cheng Xu, Wanyu Zhang, and Zhihao Zhou placed trades that more than doubled their $250,000 in simulated seed money, earning them a strong win at the 2017 CME Group Trading Challenge futures trading contest. CME Group, a Chicago-based operator of trading marketplaces, sponsors the college competition as a way to educate students about the derivatives markets and the global economy. Trading only natural gas futures over the month-long contest, the team amassed a simulated account balance of $530,615, more than $124,000 ahead of the next closest competitor.

Sperry Fund Beinecke Scholarship

Diego AtehortuaDiego Atehortua, a junior art history major in the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, has been named a 2017 Beinecke Scholar. Beinecke scholarships provide substantial support for the graduate education of young men and women of exceptional promise pursuing a course of study in the arts, humanities, or social sciences. Atehortua is the first Rutgers student to win a Beinecke Scholarship, and one of only 20 students in the United States to receive one in 2017.

Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program

Eunice AjayiEunice Ajayi, a 2016 graduate of the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, has been awarded a 2017 Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship, which supports extraordinary individuals who want to pursue careers as Foreign Service Officers in the U.S. Department of State. She was one of only 30 fellows selected nationwide. Ajayi is the second consecutive recent graduate of Rutgers–New Brunswick to be named a Rangel Fellow and the third overall.

U.S. Department of Energy

Jennifer CoulterSchool of Arts and Sciences physics major Jennifer Coulter, a 2017 graduate of Rutgers University–New Brunswick, begins studies at Harvard in fall 2017 under a U.S. Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship. Coulter completed her Rutgers career as a 2016–2017 Goldwater Scholar.

 

United States Department of State/Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars

Rohini Bhaumik, a 2013 graduate of the School of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, has been named a 2017 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellow. According to the Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars—which administers the Pickering program on behalf of the U.S. State Department—fellows “receive two years of financial support, mentoring, and professional development to prepare them for a career in the Foreign Service.”

Public Policy and International Affairs Program

Sarah LinSchool of Arts and Sciences junior Sarah Lin has been named a 2017 Public Policy and International Affairs (PPIA) Fellow. As a PPIA fellow, she participates in a Junior Summer Institute Fellowship at Princeton University. Last year, School of Arts and Sciences undergraduate Antoinette Gingerelli was a 2016 PPIA Fellow, which allowed her to study over the summer at the University of Michigan. PPIA prepares undergraduates for graduate study and careers in public and international affairs.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

2017 Innovation in Affordable Housing Competition(Left to right, with professor Anton Nelessen in red cap) Chelsea Moore-Ritchie, Christine Winter, Jane Allen, and Sharone Small, graduate students from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, and Kimberly Tryba, far right, a graduate student in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers University–New Brunswick, won the 2017 Innovation in Affordable Housing Competition, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Besting finalists from the University of Michigan, Yale, and NYU/Columbia, the Rutgers team created an award-winning proposal to turn an aging public housing development in Cleveland, Ohio, into a vibrant community.

National Science Foundation

Thirteen students from Rutgers University–New Brunswick, Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences, and Rutgers University–Newark were selected as 2017 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program awardees. According to the NSF, the “program has nurtured economic innovation and leadership in the U.S. continuously since 1952 by recruiting and supporting outstanding students with high potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics very early in their graduate training.”

U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Fifteen graduating seniors and graduate students were named U.S. Fulbright Students for 2017–2018.  The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers research, study, and teaching opportunities in over 140 countries to recent graduates and graduate students. For eight consecutive years, Rutgers University–New Brunswick has earned a spot as one of the nation's “Top Producers of U.S. Fulbright Students” as reported by the Chronicle of Higher Education.