West Hartford Resident Keith Gagnon Cited for Achievement by Goldwater Scholarship Foundation

2014 May 30

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) student Keith Gagnon of West Hartford, Conn., a junior, was honored by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

The Goldwater Scholarship program fosters and encourages 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. Since 2002, some 21 WPI students have been named Scholars or Honorable Mention recipients in the Goldwater Scholarship competition.

Completing his junior year, Keith was named a 2014 Goldwater Scholar. He is a biomedical engineering major and plans to pursue both an M.D. and a Ph.D. and conduct research in tissue engineering for cardiac muscle regeneration, while working as a cardiothoracic surgeon. He has conducted research at the University of Connecticut Health Center Institute for Regenerative Engineering (UCHC IRE) and is currently researching applications for fibrin microthreads in cardiac development at the WPI Center for Regenerative Biosciences and Engineering. At WPI, Keith volunteers at the Bioengineering Institute, works as an EMT with Emergency Medical Services, and is active with Students Preventing Assault and Rape in our Community. He is also a member of the men's varsity swim team. Keith is co-author on two journal publications and has received numerous academic scholarships and awards.

"Keith is an outstanding student, deeply engaged in learning in the classroom and the lab," said Arthur Heinricher, Dean of Undergraduate Studies. "This award recognizes his outstanding academic work, and also the contributions that he has made outside the WPI community through his project work."

The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. Of the Scholars, 172 are men, 111 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their degree objective. Twenty-two Scholars are mathematics majors, 191 are science and related majors, 63 are majoring in engineering, and seven are computer science majors. Many of the Scholars have dual majors in a variety of mathematics, science, engineering, and computer disciplines. 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.

Goldwater Scholars have very impressive academic qualifications that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs. Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 80 Rhodes Scholarships, 117 Marshall Awards, 112 Churchill Scholarships, and numerous other distinguished fellowships such as the National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships. Since its first award in 1989, the Foundation has bestowed 7,163 scholarships worth approximately 46 million dollars. The Trustees plan to award about three hundred scholarships for the 2015-2016 academic year.

About Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Founded in 1865 in Worcester, Mass., WPI is one of the nation's first engineering and technology universities. Its 14 academic departments offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science, engineering, technology, business, the social sciences, and the humanities and arts, leading to bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees. WPI's talented faculty work with students on interdisciplinary research that seeks solutions to important and socially relevant problems in fields as diverse as the life sciences and bioengineering, energy, information security, materials processing, and robotics. Students also have the opportunity to make a difference to communities and organizations around the world through the university's innovative Global Perspective Program. There are more than 35 WPI project centers throughout North America and Central America, Africa, Australia, Asia, and Europe.