Ellen Considine, a junior from Boulder, Colorado, who is majoring in applied math with minors in statistics, geography and economics, has demonstrated a strong potential to succeed as a researcher in science, engineering and math and has thus been named a 2019-2020 recipient of the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.
“Receiving this recognition from the Goldwater Foundation renews my faith in committing so much of my college experience to pursuing ideas and skills that will allow me to help address large-scale societal challenges,” she said.
Deborah Viles, director of the university’s Office of Top Scholarships, said Considine and another CU Boulder student were selected from a pool of 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, and noted that this year’s high number of scholars resulted from a partnership between the U.S. Department of Defense National Defense Education Programs (NDEP) and the Goldwater Foundation.
Considine, a member of the Engineering Honors Program and a Norlin Scholar, aspires to advance the application of data science methods in environmental health monitoring, evaluation and public policy implementation and will pursue a doctorate in biostatistics.
Since 2017, she has worked in Earth Lab, an earth data science research consortium established under a Grand Challenge grant at CU. As a member of the lab’s environmental health science team, she has investigated associations between wildfire air pollution and human health.
Over the summer of 2017, Considine assisted CU Engineers Without Borders (EWB) assess future projects in Nepal, including drone mapping to help inform the work of EWB and other research and development groups. This summer, she will continue her Earth Lab research and collaborate with the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment and Denver Public Schools to analyze data characterizing air pollution exposure and childhood asthma.
Her father, CU Boulder alumnus Geoff Considine, who holds a doctorate, also won a Goldwater Scholarship in 1989. Considine said she is grateful for the support she has received from family, friends, professors, mentors and lab colleagues.
About the Goldwater Scholarship
The Goldwater is considered the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarship in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. Congress established the award in 1986 to honor the memory and work of the late Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater.
This year, the Goldwater Foundation selected 496 scholars nationwide from a pool of 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, and most are expected to pursue doctoral degrees.
Math, science and engineering sophomores and juniors who are engaged in research and are interested in applying for the Goldwater Scholarship next year are encouraged to contact Deborah Viles at viles@colorado.edu.
Learn more about the Goldwater Scholarship.
Article edited from original post on CU Boulder Today