TROY, N.Y. — Two Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute students, Elizabeth DeLouise and Jeffrey Martin, have been selected as 2006 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars by the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The national award honors students pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.

Elizabeth DeLouise of Rockville Centre, N.Y., is a sophomore with a dual major in computer and systems engineering and psychology. She is a member of Mensa International and the recipient of several awards, including most recently the Alpha Omega Epsilon Engineering & Technical Science Scholarship.

Through Rensselaer’s Minds & Machines Program — an applied cognitive science undergraduate program in which students explore the nature of reasoning, perception, memory, and learning — DeLouise is working alongside other students and faculty to develop robots that are as capable as humans. While artificial intelligence research has progressed significantly in recent years, scientists have yet to develop truly intelligent machines that can navigate through the environment, take input from their surroundings, and make decisions based on this information. DeLouise says that many people perceive these as “fantasy fields” that belong primarily to science fiction movies, but she is committed to developing real-life applications of these technologies that will help people in their daily lives.

Jeffrey Martin of Boylston, Mass., is a sophomore with a dual major in bioinformatics and molecular biology, and biochemistry and biophysics. He is enrolled in the accelerated bachelor’s of science/Ph.D. program, which enables students to complete a bachelor’s degree and a doctoral degree in seven years. He is the first recipient of the David T. Ryan Merit Scholarship at Rensselaer and is a Rensselaer Medalist.

Martin is involved in an interdisciplinary research project at Rensselaer — working with George Plopper, assistant professor of biology, and Kristin Bennett, professor of mathematical sciences — to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms of adult stem cell differentiation.

Martin sees his role in the project as an interdisciplinary bridge between the laboratory biologists and the mathematical and computer science theoretical team. He is currently working on using machine learning tools to design and test a predictive modeling program to analyze the differentiation of adult stem cells.

“Elizabeth DeLouise and Jeffrey Martin are outstanding, dedicated, and highly motivated students who exemplify excellence at Rensselaer,” said G.P. “Bud” Peterson, Rensselaer provost. “Both have taken full advantage of the undergraduate research opportunities at Rensselaer, and we are very happy to see their accomplishments recognized with this prestigious honor.”

DeLouise and Martin are two of 323 scholarship recipients selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,081 mathematics, science, and engineering students nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide, according to the Goldwater Foundation. The Goldwater Scholarship provides $7,500 per year for undergraduate study.

About the Goldwater Scholarship Foundation
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on Nov. 14, 1986. The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields. In its 18-year history, the Foundation has awarded 4,885 scholarships worth approximately $48 million.

Contact: Tiffany Lohwater
Phone: (518) 276-6542
E-mail: lohwat@rpi.edu