The Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation recently announced its latest cohort of Goldwater Scholars, with numerous Indian Americans among the group.

There was a total of 396 college students from across the U.S. named as scholars, which was an increase from previous years.

The increase in scholars came as a result of a partnership with the Department of Defense National Defense Education Programs and Peggy Goldwater Clay, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation, the foundation said in a March 27 news release.

“As it is vitally important that the nation ensures that it has the scientific talent it needs to maintain its global competitiveness and security, we saw partnering with the Goldwater Foundation as a way to help ensure the U.S. is developing this talent,” said Dr. Jagadeesh Pamulapati, director of the NDEP program, as he explained the partnership.

Several Indian Americans and South Asian Americans were among those honored by the foundation as scholars.

Among them was Aditya Sivakumar of the CalTech, who studies mathematical sciences. Sivakumar’s career goal is to earn a doctorate in mathematics or theoretical physics; perform research on the math that underpins the physical world, from the standard model of particle physics to quantum gravity; and teach at a university.

Kartik Chandra of Stanford was named a scholar as well. A student studying CISE, he hopes to earn a doctorate in computer science, conduct research in computer science and teach at the university level.

Rahul Sahay of U.C. Berkeley, who studies physics and astronomy, was also named a scholar. He is hoping to get a doctorate in physics. His career coals include conducting research at the intersection of condensed matter physics, high energy physics, and atomic physics in order to connect theory and experiment, and teach at the university level.

Also named was Jayashri Viswanathan, a student studying life sciences at U.C. Davis. Viswanathan’s career goals include earning a Ph.D. in neuroscience to investigate the neurobiological mechanisms of learning and decision making. Leena Mathur, studying CISE at the University of Southern California, was among those named a scholar. She aspires to be a university professor after pursuing a Ph.D. in computer science. Her goal is to conduct research and lead a group that advances human-centered artificial intelligence to benefit society.

University of Denver life sciences student Anit Tyagi was named a scholar as well. Tyagi plans on completing an M.D./Ph.D. in cancer biology. He aims to enter cancer research academia by both researching cancer immunotherapy and by teaching at the university level.

Keshav Motwani, who studies medicine at the University of Florida, was also named a scholar. His career goals include earning a Ph.D. in machine learning and leading a collaborative research group focusing on applications of machine learning in immunogenomics to investigate immune cells in disease at the single-cell level.

Krishna Pucha of Emory University studies life sciences and was named a scholar as well. He plans to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology with an orthopedics focus.

Pushkar Shinde of Emory University studies chemistry and was named a scholar. Shinde hopes to seek a doctorate in chemistry to conduct cutting edge drug development research to help solve pressing global challenges such as drug resistant pathogens.

Vennela Mannava of the University of Chicago, who studies chemistry, earned a scholarship. She hopes to get a doctorate focused on bioinorganic chemistry and conduct research at a national laboratory developing sustainable methods for energy conversion such as carbon capture and utilization.

Lopa Bhatt, who studies physics and astronomy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, was also named a scholar. Bhatt’s goal is to graduate with a Ph.D. degree from a top-tier materials science/condensed matter physics program and become a successful researcher or professor in the field of Electron Microscopy.

Chemistry student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Sriyankari Chitti was named a scholar. Chitti aspires to contribute to the field of organic chemistry as a professor at an R1 institution by discovering new synthetic methods with direct application to the synthesis of drug molecules.

Also named a scholar was Divyesh Kumar of Iowa State University, who studies life sciences. Kumar has a goal of earning an M.D./Ph.D. in neuroscience and to perform research on stem cell therapies for the treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Multiple Sclerosis.

University of Maryland at College Park chemistry student Pavan Ravindra, who was named a scholar, plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemical physics with a focus on computational chemistry.

At Harvard University, Sambuddha Chattopadhya, who studies physics and astronomy, was named a scholars. Chattopadhyay has a career goal of earning a doctorate in condensed matter theory.

At MIT, Vaishnavi Phadnis and Vaibhavi Shah were named scholars. Phadnis, who studies life sciences, will pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in cancer biology, and hopes to lead a research group that explores basic mechanisms of cancer progression and translates findings to improve patient outcomes. Shah, who studies engineering, will pursue an M.D./Ph.D. in computer science, and hopes to conduct research at the intersection of machine learning and clinical diagnostics/decision making in neurology to improve patient outcomes.

Psychology student at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Aditya Shekhar was named a scholar. Shekhar plans to earn an M.D./Ph.D. with his thesis focusing on multidisciplinary approaches to heart disease.

Ashwin Ajit, a CISE student at Clarkson University, was named a scholar. He wants to obtain a Ph.D. in computer science, conducting research in machine learning.

Columbia University students Sapna Ramesh and Abhishek Shah were also named scholars. Ramesh studies engineering and plans to pursue a doctorate in chemical engineering. Shah, who studies life sciences, is going to pursue a career in academia researching energy storage materials, and hopes to contribute to the widespread use of alternative energy technology.

Rohin Maganti, an engineering student at Duke University, is a scholar. Maganti hopes to earn an M.D./Ph.D. in cancer biology. He hopes to conduct research as a PI on genes regulating DNA damage signaling and translate research efforts into targeted cancer therapies.

Ohio State University medicine student Sarthak Shah was also named a scholar. The OSU student plans to pursue a career as a physician/scientist in the field of neuroscience to formulate translational approaches to treat traumatic brain injury and other neurological disorders.

University of Cincinnati life sciences student Rishi Mehta earned a scholar honor as well. Mehta hopes to earn an M.D./Ph.D. in immunology and conduct basic and translational research in gastrointestinal immunology to eventually lead to personalized treatments for Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Carnegie Mellon University life sciences student Shiv Sethi was named a scholar. Sethi aims to earn an M.D./Ph.D. training in cancer biology, with residency and fellowship training in oncology, and conduct translational research to improve the efficacy of current cancer therapies and develop new treatments.

University of Pennsylvania engineering student Shreya Parchura was also named a scholar. She plans to earn an M.D./Ph.D. in neuroengineering to conduct research in engineering medical devices to treat and prevent neuropsychiatric disorders.

In Rhode Island, Brown University CISE student Nishanth Kumar was named a scholar. He plans to obtain a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and conduct research aiming to develop intelligence algorithms to enable practical and collaborative robots.

Clemson University life sciences student Shaoni Dasgupta was also named a scholar, and intends to earn a Ph.D. in genetics and conduct research in biomedical science with an emphasis on gene repair.

At Vanderbilt University, engineering student Ashwin Kumar and CISE student Abinaya Ramakrishnan were named scholars. Kumar aspires to pursue a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and plans on conducting research on biomaterial optimization. Ramakrishnan wants to earn a Ph.D. in epidemiology and clinical investigations, then conduct epidemiological research in postoperative complications after surgery at an academic medical center.

With the 2020 awards, this brings the number of scholarships awarded since 1989 by the Goldwater Foundation to 9047 and a scholarship total to over $71 million, according to the release.

Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on Nov. 14, 1986. The Scholarship Program honoring Sen. Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue research careers in the fields of the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics.