FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four University of Arkansas juniors have been named recipients of three of the most prestigious undergraduate awards in the country:  the Harry S. Truman S. Scholarship, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, and the Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Scholarship. 

Universities may nominate four students for the Goldwater Scholarship, which recognizes outstanding students in math, science and engineering who are planning to pursue a career in research. All four University of Arkansas students were recognized. Armin Mortazavi of White Hall has been selected as a Goldwater Scholar, and Ailon Haileyesus of Springdale, Stephanie Long of Fayetteville and Lauren Reed of Benton received honorable mentions.

John “Grant” Addison of Cabot is a 2015 Truman Scholar, a scholarship that supports students who are committed to public service.

Elise Clote of Glendale, Missouri, and Michael Reinisch of Dusseldorf, Germany, are both 2015 Udall Scholars. This scholarship is awarded to students who plan to pursue careers connected to the environment or Native American health or public policy. See below for detailed information on each of the awards and the students.

“This is the triple crown in the scholarship world for students applying in the junior year. It would be hard to do better. This points again to a student body, and faculty who support them, that is second to none,” said G. David Gearhart, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas. “The University of Arkansas is very proud of the accomplishments of these students. That they have received this level of national recognition is outstanding, but we know that what they will achieve goes way beyond a scholarship, and we look forward to following their careers in the years to come.”

Only seven other institutions nationwide also had winners for each of the scholarships. They include Arizona State, Brown, Northwestern, Yale, and the universities of Georgia, Iowa, and Kansas.

“This has been a record year for the University of Arkansas,” said Suzanne McCray, director of the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. “We have a Goldwater Scholar for the 20th year in a row. We have two Udall Scholars, which is a first for the University of Arkansas, we have a Truman Scholar for the fourth year in a row, and we have students who have won all three of these prestigious awards. You are in very elite company when that happens.

“These students are being recognized from the College of Engineering, the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and the Honors College. They represent a wide variety of majors, but they also share a dedication to and enthusiasm for their discipline, and it has helped make them successful at the highest level.”

Truman scholarship

Grant Addison

Grant Addison, from Cabot, is an honors history and political science double major in Fulbright College, with minors in theatre and medieval and renaissance studies.  
He is one of 58 students from 50 U.S. colleges and universities to be awarded the prestigious Truman scholarship this year. He will receive $30,000 to be used toward his graduate study. 

Truman Scholars are selected on the basis of their academic success, leadership skills, and the likelihood of their becoming public service leaders. This is the fourth consecutive year that a U of A student has been named a Truman Scholar, and Addison is the university’s 19th Truman Scholar overall.

Addison, a member of the Honors College, is an active leader in campus politics, having served in both the College Republicans and the Associated Student Government. Through his service on the Student Alumni Board, Addison helped organize the 2014 Homecoming Blood Drive, which collected nearly 1,000 units of blood. As a member of the Distinguished Lecturers Committee, Addison helped bring speakers such as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and scientist Bill Nye to Fayetteville.

After completing his studies at the University of Arkansas, Addison would like to work in the Department of Education or an education-focused non-profit organization early in his career and then return to Arkansas. 

“I am truly honored to be among those selected as Truman Scholars,” Addison said. “The opportunity to represent my family, university and state in such a capacity is one that I will always cherish. I plan to use this award to pursue graduate degrees in law and public policy so that I can be fully equipped to serve in the public arena. It is my wish to then return to Arkansas and play a role in improving the state’s education system.”

Goldwater Scholarship

Armin Mortazavi

Armin Mortazavi, from White Hall, is an honors chemistry and physics double major and Bodenhamer Fellow in Fulbright College. He will receive a scholarship of up to $7,500 from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship Foundation for his senior year. 

Mortazavi’s success marks a landmark year for Goldwater Scholars at the University of Arkansas, as he is the 50th Goldwater Scholar overall, and his win marks the 20th consecutive year that at least one U of A student has been named a Goldwater Scholar.

Mortazavi is a member of the Honors College and an active member in Alpha Epsilon Delta, Celebrating Discovery, Honors College Ambassadors, and the Society of Physics Students. He was a recipient of a 2015 Statewide Undergraduate Research Fellowship. His research mentor is Roger Koeppe, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Mortazavi’s research focuses on the stability and behavior of alpha-helical peptides. 

“I am honored and pleased to be able to call myself a Goldwater Scholar,” Mortazavi said. “I would not have been able to accomplish this feat without any of the mentorship and guidance I received along the way, especially from my research adviser Dr. Roger Koeppe. The interactions and experiences with other researchers that I have had at the University of Arkansas have been very valuable for me and integral for my development as a researcher. I am excited and hopeful for my future profession as a medical researcher so I can make a difference and bring about change.”

Upon graduation, Mortazavi plans to pursue a medical degree and doctor of philosophy at a leading medical research university.  He eventually hopes to teach and conduct research at a similar institution. 

Goldwater Honorable Mentions

Ailon Haileyesus

Ailon Haileyesus is a junior honors biomedical engineering major in the College of Engineering. She currently researches the effects of traumatic brain-injury-induced changes under assistant professor Kartik Balachandran. Haileyesus plans to pursue a doctorate in biomedical engineering and conduct research that will help advance biomedical healthcare technologies in developing countries. 

Stephanie Long

Stephanie Long is a junior honors biology and psychology double major in Fulbright College. She plans to pursue a doctorate in neuroscience and conduct research in vision, perception and cognition in the human brain. Long hopes to eventually teach at the university level and mentor research students. Her research mentor is assistant professor Nathan Parks.

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Lauren Reed

Lauren Reed is a junior honors chemical engineering major in the College of Engineering. She plans to complete a doctorate in neuroscience and continue her research in the biomedical membrane separations field. Reed hopes to eventually become a professor and research mentor at a leading university. Her current research mentor is associate professor Jamie Hestekin, who holds the Jim L. Turpin Professorship in Chemical and Biochemical Separations.

Udall Scholarships

Elise Clote, and Michael Reinisch,  join 48 other students nationally as the 2015 class of Udall Scholars. Clote and Reinisch were selected from 464 candidates nominated by 222 colleges and universities from around the country.

The Morris K. and Stewart L. Udall Scholarship Foundation awards 50 merit-based scholarships of up to $5,000 and 50 honorable mentions to college sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated outstanding potential and a commitment to pursuing careers related to the environment or to pursuing careers related to tribal public policy or health care. 

Elise Clote

Clote, of Glendale, Missouri, is an honors junior agribusiness management and marketing major in Bumpers College. She is a member of the Osage Nation, and currently serves as president of the Native American Student Association, an organization in which she has been active since freshman year. Through her involvement with NASA, she has also helped coordinate Native American Impact Day, an event that brings prospective Native American students to visit the U of A. In addition she has volunteered with GroGreen and PRIDE on campus, and she is regularly involved with TriCycle Farms. Clote has also been an active volunteer at the Osage Nation Boys and Girls Club and at the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota.

Upon graduation, Clote plans to pursue a master’s degree in agricultural economics or agricultural and extension education at the University of Arkansas.  She ultimately plans to work for the Osage Nation by focusing on food security and food sovereignty through their Bird Creek Farms project.

“I feel blessed to have been chosen for the Udall Scholarship,” Clote said. “I am very excited to meet the rest of the Udall community in August during orientation. I am so thankful to the University of Arkansas nominating me for this honor.”

Michael Reinisch

Michael Reinisch, originally from Düsseldorf, Germany, is an honors chemical engineering and physics double-degree junior in the College of Engineering and Fulbright College. He has been actively involved with Arkansas Engineers Abroad since his freshman year. His efforts with the club have benefitted TriCycle Farms in Fayetteville and the U of A study abroad program in More Tomorrow, Belize, where Reinisch supervised the construction of eco-latrines that improved sanitation in the community. Reinisch has previously participated in a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at Boise State University, and he also won a RISE Scholarship, which allowed him to complete an internship in Germany. 

This semester, Reinisch is studying abroad at an eco-village in Solheimar, Iceland, through the Center for Ecological Living and Learning at Leslie University. After graduation, Reinisch wants to continue his study of eco-villages by pursuing a master’s degree in environmental engineering. He ultimately wants to found his own organization that helps build eco-villages around the world. 

“With the Udall Scholarship, I will be able to keep focusing my time and effort on my volunteer activities and the development project I am working on for Belize,” said Reinisch. “I am grateful to be part of the Udall community where I can look for graduate schools and learn about non-governmental organizations I may want to join in the future.”

University of Arkansas students who are interested in applying for competitive scholarships like the Truman, Goldwater, or Udall should contact the Office of Nationally Competitive Awards at awards@uark.edu.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.