Student Ariel Gale named Goldwater Scholar

Ariel Gale, a Furman University student from Knoxville, Tennessee, has received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s preeminent undergraduate award in the sciences.

The Goldwater scholarships are presented annually on the basis of academic merit to the country’s most promising students in math, science and engineering. Gale was among 496 college students from across the nation to receive a Goldwater Scholarship for the 2019-20 academic year.

Gale is a rising senior majoring in chemistry at Furman with a minor in women’s, gender and sexuality studies. She is active in campus activities and is committed to gender equity throughout academia, especially in STEM fields.

She has completed extensive research at both Furman and the University of Tennessee, and she is the first-name author of an article recently submitted for publication in the Journal of Physical Chemistry. She is committed to a career in scientific research and plans to enter a Ph.D. program after graduation, where she will focus on quantum chemistry and spectroscopy.

“Ariel has demonstrated an amazing ability to simultaneously conduct research and perform well in her courses,” said George Shields, Furman’s vice president for academic affairs and provost and professor of chemistry. “Her creative and systematic approach to research makes her a promising future scientist, and she is exactly the type of person the Goldwater Scholarship is designed to support.”

The scholarship program honoring the late Senator Barry Goldwater was established to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Goldwater Scholars have impressive academic and research credentials that have garnered the attention of prestigious post-graduate fellowship programs.

For more information, visit the Goldwater Scholarship site, or contact Furman’s News and Media Relations office at 864-294-3107 and vince.moore@furman.edu.