Two University of Arkansas Students Named as 2013 Barry Goldwater Scholars

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Mathias Bellaiche, left, and Tobias Bothwell, the latest U of A Goldwater Scholars.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Two University of Arkansas students have been named 2013 Goldwater Scholars, a national award given to top students in the fields of mathematics, science and engineering. Mathias Bellaiche of Fayetteville and Tobias Bothwell of Oklahoma City are among 271 students in the nation to be named as Goldwater Scholars. They will each receive a scholarship of up to $7,500 from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Foundation. Both students are juniors in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences and members of the Honors College.

Mathias Bellaiche is a double major in biophysics and biophysical chemistry. He is a Sturgis Fellow and an Arkansas Governor’s Distinguished Scholar. His research mentor is Distinguished Professor of Physics Gregory Salamo, and his research focus is biomedical science.

Tobias “Toby” Bothwell, a double major in physics and mathematics, is also a Sturgis Fellow, as well as a Byrd Scholar. His research mentor is physics professor Salvador Barraza-Lopez, and his focus is quantum theory.

“Mathias Ballaiche and Tobias Bothwell are exceptional students working with exceptional faculty. They are very deserving of this award,” said Chancellor G. David Gearhart. “The physics department has a long history of producing Goldwater Scholars. These two outstanding students join a large and distinguished community of University of Arkansas Goldwater Scholars. This is our 18th consecutive year to have at least one Scholar. We are very proud of these students and of this tradition of excellence on our campus."

Bellaiche plans to pursue a career in biomedicine, attending the National Institutes of Health Oxford-Cambridge M.D./Ph.D. Scholars Program and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. His ultimate goal is a post at a major medical school or research hospital, where he can both conduct research and care for pediatric surgical patients. Bellaiche is currently spending a year abroad as a Libby Finch Scholar at Cambridge University. While a student at the U of A, Bellaiche has served as a tutor for the Enhanced Learning Center, an Honors College ambassador, and the outreach coordinator for the Society of Physics Students. He is a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Pre-medical Society and Phi Kappa Phi. Bellaiche volunteers at the Northwest Arkansas Economic Opportunity Agency’s Children’s House for abused and neglected children, where he assists teachers with activities. 

Bothwell’s physics research with Barraza-Lopez is principally focused on studying the electronic properties of various materials. The summer before he arrived at the University of Arkansas as a freshman, Bothwell interned as a Fleming Scholar at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. He plans to pursue a doctoral degree in physics at the University of Colorado and to teach and conduct research in a university setting. In addition to his research, Bothwell is a member of several organizations for scientists, including the Center for Nanostructured Electronic Materials, the American Physical Society, and the Society of Physics Students. Bothwell is also active with campus athletic organizations, such as the Triathlon Club and the Cycling Club.

The University of Arkansas has had a total of 48 Goldwater Scholars, students who have gone on to become Rhodes, Marshall, Gates Cambridge, Fulbright, and Udall Scholars; seven have also receive National Science Graduate Research Fellowships. They have pursued doctoral work at prestigious programs including the University of Virginia, University of Michigan, University of California-Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, Cambridge University, Columbia University, Cornell University, MIT, St. Andrews (Scotland), Oxford, Princeton University, Stanford University and Washington University.

Goldwater Scholars are selected from a field of more than a thousand mathematics, science and engineering students, who must be nominated by their institution. Each institution puts forward its top four students. The scholars are chosen on the basis of academic merit and research experience. They must have strong support from a research mentor as well.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor former Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, and the first scholarships were awarded in 1988. The purpose of the program is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields. Universities and colleges may nominate up to four students each year.