Students awarded Goldwater Scholarships

University of South Carolina students Oliver Ralf Gothe and Joseph Harold Montoya have been named 2007 Barry M. Goldwater scholars.

William Walter Kay received honorable mention in the prestigious national undergraduate competition.

The Goldwater Scholarship is awarded nationally to sophomores and juniors who are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering and who intend to pursue a career in research and/or college-level teaching.

Since 1990, the university has had 34 Goldwater scholars.

Gothe, who came to South Carolina from Germany at the age of 15, is a junior majoring in physics and chemistry and minoring in mathematics. He is the son of Ralf and Hannelore Oliver Gothe of Irmo. A student in the South Carolina Honors College, Gothe is a Palmetto fellow and a recipient of the President’s Award.

He is the president and founder of the university’s Society of Physics and has worked in the research labs of several university faculty, helping with research on nuclear-particle physics and nanotechnology.

Active in campus life, Gothe is a residence-hall adviser and has been active in the University Mountaineering Club, the Chess Club and the Judo Club.

Gothe plans to pursue a research career in the biomedical applications of nanotechnology and to teach future scientists.

Montoya, a graduate of Summerville High School, is the son of Barry and Sara Montoya of Summerville. He is a junior majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in mathematics and music performance. He is a student in the South Carolina Honors College and holds the university’s prestigious Carolina Scholarship, funded by the William B. Douglas and the David W. Robinson scholarship funds.

Montoya also is a recipient of the Lieber Scholarship, the Robert C. Byrd Memorial Scholarship, the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship and the National Merit Scholarship.

He is a member of Pi Mu Epsilon math honor society and Omega Chi Epsilon chemical-engineering honor society. He was a finalist in the American Chemical Society American Chemistry Olympiad and was on the Academic Team competing at the American Chemical Federation Fall Quizbowl Tournament.

Montoya is a member of the Palmetto Pans Steel Drum Ensemble and the Reformed University Fellowship. He has done research on catalysis at the university and recently had an article published in the scientific journal, Catalysis Today.

Kay, the son of Charlie and Cindy Kay of Greenville, is a senior mathematics major and a student in the South Carolina Honors College. He is a recipient of the Palmetto Fellows Scholarship and the university’s James Bruce Coleman Mathematics Scholarship and is a member of Pi Mu Epsilon math honor society. He also is the winner of the university’s Problem Solving Competition, as well as its representative to Math Fest. Kay has done research with two mathematics professors, Dr. Jerrold Griggs and Dr. Joshua Cooper, and, last semester, participated in the Budapest Semesters in Mathematics in Hungary.

Kay wants to pursue a doctorate in pure math and teach and conduct research at the university level.

The Goldwater scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,035 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The one- and two-year scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

The university’s Office of Fellowships and Scholar Programs (www.sc.edu/ofsp) helped prepare the Goldwater applicants for the competition.