College of Engineering / Dean's Report / other-stories / Goldwater Scholar: Shelby Wales
Goldwater Scholar: Shelby Wales
Auburn Engineering senior Shelby Wales was named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar, an honor bestowed on only 410 students nationwide in 2021. The scholarship is widely considered the most prestigious award in the United States for undergraduates in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Wales, originally from Sylacauga, Alabama, is majoring in chemical engineering and minoring in supply chain management. Wales was chosen from a field of more than 5,000 college students.
Her research investigates different pathways of implementing 3D printing to investigate geochemical reactions. Wales hopes that by producing 3D printing models of real rock structures that possess the same reactive properties, further insight may be obtained about the geochemical reactions that occur in conjunction with carbon capture and sequestration.
“I think the community of Goldwater Scholars I have already been connected to will be immensely helpful as I continue learning and begin my career,” Wales said. “I am incredibly honored to have been selected for this scholarship, and I hope it will put me in a position to continue doing work I enjoy with incredible people.”
Wales noted that assistant professor Lauren Beckingham in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering has supported her research interests and personal academic journey from the time Wales joined Beckingham’s research group in spring 2019.
“The open, collaborative environment fostered in our research group has been formative toward my perception of the value of scientific research,” Wales said.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Program was established to provide scholarships to outstanding students who intend to pursue careers in mathematics, natural sciences and engineering. Each scholarship covers eligible expenses up to a maximum of $7,500 annually for undergraduate tuition, fees, books and housing.
of Engineering and the Honors College, Rogers maintained a 4.0 grade point average and served as an undergraduate research fellow working with IBM on a Trusted Platform Module crypto-processor to create secure exchanges of information.
He worked three summers as an undergraduate research intern at the Huntsville-based Dynetics, where he helped develop malware analysis tools.
“One of the main things that interested me about the University of Oxford program is that it looks at cybersecurity from a multidisciplinary perspective,” Rogers said. “It’s not just about the technical aspect, but when you take a step back, you see the role it has in international relations and politics, and it’s kind of thrown a loop into how we consider our negotiations with other countries.”
