Four Rutgers Students Earn Prestigious Goldwater Scholarships
This year’s honorees include two Rutgers-Camden students, a first for the university
Four Rutgers students have been selected as Goldwater Scholars, a prestigious national honor for undergraduates who plan to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
Tiffany Chan and Alan Rozenblit from Rutgers-Camden made history becoming the first from that location to earn the award, joining Rutgers-New Brunswick students Adrian Jackson and Iris You in the class of scholars.
The four students are building impressive research portfolios working to unlock the mysteries of matter, studying the functions of the nervous system, preparing to investigate the biology of cancer and working to improve 3D printing.
They are among 441 students nationwide named Goldwater Scholars this spring.
“To have Tiffany and Alan recognized as the first Goldwater Scholars for Rutgers-Camden is a point of tremendous pride for our institution and for our office,’’ said Laura Collins, director of the Office of Scholar Development and Fellowship Advising. “Working with these scholars closely throughout the application process was immensely rewarding as they articulated their commitment to research and refined their long-term goals in the field of science.”
The announcement also marked a milestone for Rutgers-New Brunswick: It's the 20th consecutive year students from the university have been selected as Goldwater Scholars.
Named after the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, the undergraduate research scholarship awards recipients up to $7,500 to help cover costs associated with room and board, tuition, fees and books. Winners were chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors nominated by 445 academic institutions.
“Rutgers-New Brunswick has a strong history with Goldwater, and we’re excited to have these new scholars join the legacy,’’ said Anne Wallen, director of the Office of Distinguished Fellowships at Rutgers-New Brunswick. “Adrian and Iris exemplify our strengths in undergraduate research."
Tiffany Chan
Rutgers-Camden Honors College
At all points of her Rutgers–Camden career, one thing has been consistent for sophomore Tiffany Chan: forward motion.
Chan, a sophomore in Rutgers–Camden’s Honors College majoring in computational and integrative biology, has demonstrated a profound passion for studying the functions of the nervous system and translational research, moving rapidly upward in those areas within just the first two years of her undergraduate career.
Chan’s young but fast-moving journey includes participation in the Rutgers-New Brunswick Waksman Student Scholars Program and Cooper Medical School’s PULSE program. Her current research deals with the function of the kidneys.
“I am honored to receive this award in recognition of my academic achievements and research contributions,” Chan said. “This opportunity not only affirms my commitment to the pursuit of knowledge but also motivates me to continue bridging scientific research with clinical practice.”
Chan intends to pursue an M.D./Ph.D. with a specialization in neurophysiology and neurosurgery, aiming to integrate diagnostics, patient care, and innovative research. Becoming a Goldwater Scholar in just her second year as an undergraduate leaves her well positioned to do just that.
As the first in her family to graduate high school and attend college, Chan has proactively sought opportunities to advance her career; she participated in the 2024 Society for Neuroscience (SFN) annual meeting and the Rutgers Health Service Corps. She plans to present at the 2025 SFN conference and is actively working with Nathan Fried, associate teaching professor of biology, toward those milestones and others.
Beyond the lab, Chan also serves as a peer mentor and a biology course assistant, along with various student leadership positions and volunteer roles. She credits the supportive community she has found with helping her balance a range of academic and extracurricular pursuits as she excels through life.
“I am grateful for the support of my mentors, peers, and institutions that have guided me throughout my journey,” Chan said.
– Dustin Petzold
Adrian Jackson
School of Engineering, Rutgers-New Brunswick
Adrian Jackson started using his 3D printer for fun, creating toys and trinkets, but the pandemic’s arrival showed him the potential for the device. By mid-2020, he was printing face masks and other personal protective equipment for local hospitals that demanded all he could supply.
That experience also taught Jackson a big problem with 3D printing: The printers are finicky and only work well for expert users who can identify and correct errors.
Jackson's efforts to fix that problem have helped win him a Goldwater Scholarship that he will use to finance his remaining year as an engineering undergraduate and the master’s degree he must earn before pursuing his doctorate.
“Hearing that I'm being recognized with such a prestigious scholarship felt unreal,” said Jackson, who grew up in Long Hill, N.J. “This award made me step back and see all the things I've done in these three years of undergrad and appreciate both what I've accomplished and the people around me who've supported me so much.”
The son of a software engineer and an environmental engineer, it was little surprise that Jackson chose engineering when he came to Rutgers–New Brunswick. It only took one lucky decision, applying for a research internship in Rajiv Malhotra's lab, to convince Jackson that engineering research could be a lifetime vocation.
“Dr. Malhotra showed me that you can do so many interesting and thought-provoking and meaningful things even as a 20-year-old,” Jackson said. “Knowing that I can publish a paper, and someone else may eventually use it and do something really amazing with it – that's really motivating to me.”
At the lab, Jackson began with relatively simple tasks and close oversight.
As Jackson demonstrated mastery of one task, Malhotra and the senior students at the lab gave him more difficult challenges. Now, he leads his own research project developing image processing software that identifies errors in prints as they occur.
Regular printers are prone to malfunctions that casual users struggle to fix; 3D printers are worse. Frequent minor plastic clogs often create errors, but the printers come with no error detection or correction software. Small errors in the early stages of printing get magnified, like building a tall wall atop an uneven foundation.
Jackson said the lab's efforts to correct that, and his contribution to that research, could have myriad vital real-world applications.
“You could send a printer up to space, to the ISS. You could send a printer to a mobile Army team. You could send it to disaster relief areas,” Jackson said. “We're trying to enable people in those situations to print things without experience and to print things correctly.”
After completing his undergraduate degree and master's program, Jackson plans to pursue a doctoral degree in manufacturing controls.
“I just love making things and doing things that I see as positive to people,” he said. “I'm an engineer. I just like building things.”
– Andrew Smith
Alan Rozenblit
Rutgers-Camden Honors College
Alan Rozenblit was satisfied with the mere experience of applying for a Goldwater Scholarship, but it comes as no surprise that he progressed beyond an applicant to receive the award.
“Even if I wasn't accepted for the award, applying still would have been worth it,” said Rozenblit, a junior in the Rutgers–Camden Honors College majoring in biology with a minor in chemistry. “I feel more confident about my capabilities and what my future entails. I encourage my fellow students interested in research to do the same—you never know what lies ahead.”
Rozenblit’s coursework has provided a solid foundation for a future investigating the biology of cancer. Research opportunities at Rutgers–Camden have honed his technical skills, such as advanced dissection techniques and essential abilities like critical thinking, collaboration, and even learning how to respond to failure. This summer he will be interning at the University of Pennsylvania, where he will gain more experience in hands-on settings.
Rozenblit’s achievements include co-founding the Rutgers–Camden STEM Olympiads student organization, interning as an environmental education intern at Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge, and receiving several grants and scholarships, such as the Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge Grant, Student Academic Success Research Grant, and Dr. James Durand Memorial Fund Scholarship, given to undergraduate Rutgers biology students based on academic merit.
Remarkably clear-eyed in envisioning his long-term path as a researcher, Rozenblit is grateful that his Rutgers education has helped to show him the way.
“The opportunities offered at Rutgers–Camden have been monumental in shaping my early experiences,” Rozenblit said.
– Dustin Petzold
Iris You
School of Engineering
Rutgers-New Brunswick Honors College
From the tiniest atomic structures to the materials that shape our world, Iris You is on a mission to unlock the mysteries of matter.
A junior at Rutgers University-New Brunswick double majoring in mathematics and materials science and engineering, You has immersed herself in research exploring how atomic structures influence material behavior. With ambitions of earning a doctoral degree in materials science, she is driven by a fundamental question: how can we understand why materials behave the way they do—and how can that understanding enable us to engineer their properties?
“Materials are the foundation of everything we interact with, and I want to understand how they work and what makes them function the way they do,” said You, a member of the Honors College. “In particular, understanding a material’s structure provides a gateway to engineering its properties.”
Her research journey began in her first semester when she joined the lab of Jonathan Singer, an associate professor in the School of Engineering. There, she worked on polymer metallization – a process that enhances surface properties and durability—as well as a project developing a lightweight, porous material designed for high-performance applications.
Her contributions led to a peer-reviewed publication in Advanced Materials Interfaces and two research presentations, all while deepening her appreciation for hands-on experimentation and materials synthesis.
“Iris has been exceptional at picking up different synthesis and analytical techniques,” Singer said. “She has contributed to projects ranging from aerospace coatings to battery architectures and diffraction analysis. She is well deserving of this recognition.”
You credits Singer for supporting her through internships, research opportunities and advanced coursework.
“Even when our research interests diverged, he always encouraged my growth as a scientist and helped me find opportunities aligned with my passions,” You said.
That passion took her beyond Rutgers in the summer of 2024, when she earned a highly competitive research position at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Under the mentorship of Colin Ophus, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford, she applied advanced computational techniques to analyze atomic structures.
The experience, she said, cemented her interest in computational materials science and exposed her to methods and tools she hadn’t previously encountered.
Beyond research, You is a leader in the Rutgers engineering community. As production lead for Chem-E-Car, a student-run team that designs chemically powered vehicles, she applies her engineering skills in a hands-on, collaborative environment. She also is treasurer and a competitive player for the Rutgers Badminton Club.
“I never had a concrete career goal as a child, but I loved math and science,” You said. “I enjoy creating tangible results from my work while also pursuing my creative and athletic interests.”
She credits her mother as her greatest role model – someone whose resilience and kindness she hopes to emulate.
Winning the Goldwater Scholarship, she said, is more than an honor: It validates years of dedication.
“Being named a Goldwater Scholar affirms my achievements and opens doors to future opportunities where I can contribute meaningfully to science,” You said.
Her next step is taking part in a summer research program at Cornell University, where she will study topological materials before applying to doctoral degree programs in materials science.
– Megan Schumann
