Two UNLV students -- one majoring in mechanical engineering and another majoring in chemistry -- have been named recipients of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.
Jonathan Fiene, a junior, and Kate Martin, a sophomore, were two of 309 sophomores and juniors from the U.S. and Puerto Rico to receive the scholarship awarded by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
Nearly 1,200 students pursuing careers in mathematics, science, or engineering applied for the scholarship. The award will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board for up to $7,500 per year.
Created in 1986, the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship was established to encourage excellence in science and mathematics and has helped more than 2,700 students during that time.
Both Martin and Fiene are students in UNLV's Honors College. They are among six UNLV students to earn the scholarship in the past four years and the only two Nevada residents to be chosen this year.
Fiene, who maintains a 3.93 grade point average, plans to pursue a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in the field of electromechanical component design as applied to robotic applications. His eventual goal is to teach at a university.
Fiene has had several internships while at UNLV, including positions with Bently Nevada Corp. While at Bently Nevada, he was given the opportunity to conduct his own research project. Fiene also has been the recipient of a Wal-Mart Merit Scholarship and a NASA Undergraduate Scholarship. While at UNLV he has worked closely with Robert Boehm, professor of mechanical engineering. He plans to graduate in May 2001.
He is a member of both the university chapter of Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society and the UNLV men's swim team. He was named UNLV Student-Athlete of the Year for men's swimming in 1997-98 and was selected for Western Athletic Conference Academic All Conference honors that same year.
Martin, who maintains a 3.92 grade point average, plans to pursue a doctoral degree in neuroscience with the ultimate goal of devising treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. She says her interest in this field comes largely from her close relationship with an older, profoundly mentally handicapped brother and her desire to help him and others with similar medical problems.
Among her internships while at UNLV have been jobs with the U.S. Department of Energy and at the university's Harry Reid Center for Environmental Studies. As a recipient of a National Science Foundation/EPSCor Outstanding Young Scholar in Science and Engineering award, she spent the summer of 1998 working at DOE where she studied the radioactive element polonium in aquatic environments. Martin since has continued her study of radioactivity under the direction of UNLV chemistry professor Vernon Hodge.
Martin, who is a UNLV student ambassador and a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society, also received a scholarship from the Las Vegas chapter of the Air and Waste Management Association. Last year she earned a French language proficiency diploma issued by the French Ministry of Education which certifies that she satisfies the language requirements to be admitted to any university in France.
For additional information, call Sue Reimondo in UNLV's Honors College at (702) 895-4080.
