Furman chemistry student Ruth Augustine ’27 wins Goldwater scholarship

Ruth Augustine ’27 has received an award from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship program, which supports outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in science, engineering and math.

Ruth Augustine ’27 received a Goldwater scholarship for her research into nanotechnology. Photo courtesy of Augustine.

Augustine, a chemistry major from Greenville, South Carolina currently studying away in Rome, said she knew even before coming to Furman that she wanted to be a chemistry researcher.

She conducted research at High Point University just before her first year at Furman. She has been a researcher in the chemistry department every summer since becoming a Paladin, studying nanotechnology.

It’s a challenge, spending each summer in the lab while her friends are on vacation, but she said that’s where she’s gained her confidence.

“It is times like those that have taught me more about being a scientist than any textbook ever could,” Augustine said. “It is in the difficulties that I have learned to see failures not as failures, but as interesting, new results.”

Of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors who applied, Augustine is among the 454 scholars awarded this year. The scholarship is a significant accomplishment, reflecting a student’s intentional and thoughtful engagement with their classroom studies and lab research, said Professor of Chemistry Mary Elizabeth Anderson. Even the application is a step toward Augustine’s future.

“For students, putting together this type of application is a professional development opportunity in and of itself in order to develop skills they will use as graduate students and as professional scientists,” Anderson said.

In Anderson’s lab, Augustine said she felt encouraged and empowered to develop experiments and conduct research that fits her interests. She had the guidance she wanted, while still having creative freedom to pursue her passions. Anderson said Augustine demonstrated excellent lab skills, whether it was her meticulous notes, her organizational acumen, her keen observations or her data-driven discussions.

It confirmed what she knew before enrolling at Furman, that research was more than her plan, it was her calling.

“It’s partially about improving as a scientist, but also about improving as a person and learning things about yourself,” she said. “To graduate school and my future career, I will take all those aspects to become the best in my field that I can be.”

Augustine is the ninth Furman student to win a Goldwater scholarship since 2020, and 33 students have won awards in the 27 years the Goldwater Scholarship program has existed.