Two UA Students Named Among Latest Goldwater Scholars

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The University of Alabama on Wednesday announced that two students have been selected for the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program as Goldwater Scholars for 2023-2024.

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The two selections by the prestigious program bring UA’s number of Goldwater Scholars to 62.

The two new scholars are Skylar Elliott, from Harvest, and Riley Nold, from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Elliott is a Randall Research Scholar studying metallurgical engineering, while Elliott is a UA Honors College student and has been working under professor Gregory Kubacki in the metallurgical and materials engineering department to determine how novel surface processes and fabrication techniques affect localized corrosion for high-strength alloys.

In the announcement, UA said Elliott plans to pursue a doctorate in materials science and engineering to conduct research in corrosion mechanisms of load-bearing alloys for aerospace and defense applications while teaching as a professor.

Nold is a physics and mathematics major currently working under professor Adam Hauser to characterize the crystalline and electronic structure of novel Heusler compounds via computational density functional theory.He plans on pursuing a doctorate in experimental condensed matter physics and continuing into academia as a university professor, with a research focus in thin-film fabrication.

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