University of Wyoming physiology student Jacob Michael Peters of Buffalo has won a Goldwater Scholarship.
He is among 278 students nationwide selected to receive the award from a field of more than 1,100 mathematics, science and engineering students who applied. 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.
"Jake is a great student and a great person," says Duncan Harris, director of the UW Honors Program. "He has an intellectual maturity far beyond his years."
Peters has been active in the UW chapter of FaceAIDS, working to increase awareness and to raise money to support AIDS-infected people in the developing world. He says his goal is to get a Ph.D. in physiology, conduct research in ecology and teach.
"I'd like to thank my mentor and friend, Dr. Carlos Martinez del Rio, for not measuring my potential by my starting point," Peters says. "At UW, an adviser's only requirement of a student is ambition. I hope that all of the high school students back home, when they begin their college search, consider all of the incredible opportunities that UW has offered me."
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Honoring the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, the scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.
