Attleboro Resident Brandon Clark Earns Honorable Mention in Prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation Program

2016 May 11

Worcester Polytechnic Institute student Brandon Clark of Attleboro, Mass., is a sophomore majoring in computer engineering and plans to pursue a PhD in chemical engineering. Brandon recently received Honorable Mention from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence Foundation Program, a national distinction that recognizes outstanding students pursuing careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.

Brandon's professional goals include conducting research on materials for energy production and teaching at the university level. He hopes to become the lead researcher of chemical engineering or materials science laboratory at a university, with a focus on integrating novel materials into energy systems. He also plans to serve as advisor for a student chapter of Engineers Without Borders or a similar club that engages in sustainable engineering projects.

Clark has been conducting research with Amy Peterson, assistant professor of chemical engineering, studying how quickly a biological molecule moves through various combinations of electrically charged and mechanically entangled layers of chemicals called polyelectrolytes. His research is relevant to creating more controlled ways of delivering medications in the body-for example, coating a bone implant with a drug that stimulates bone growth, and being able to control the rate at which the drug is released into the body.

This year 252 Goldwater Scholars and 256 Honorable Mentions were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,150 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by representatives of 415 colleges and universities nationwide.

Since 2002, 24 WPI students have been named Scholars or received Honorable Mention in the Goldwater Scholarship Program.

The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence Foundation Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor U.S. Sen. Barry M. Goldwater. The recognition is widely considered to be the premier undergraduate award in the science, math, and engineering fields.