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Congratulations to environmental science major Adam Formica, one of three Columbia College juniors among the 282 winners of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships! The Goldwater is among the most prestigious competitions for undergraduates in the United States - along with the Rhodes, Marshall and Udall scholarships, the latter of which Adam won in 2011!  Established by Congress in 1986 to honor Senator Goldwater, the scholarships aim to provide the U.S. with a continuing source of scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to students who plan to pursue careers in these fields.  Each winner will receive up to $7500 toward the cost of senior year tuition and other college fees.

Adam, who hails form Arlington, Mass,  plans to pursue a Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology, focusing his research on how global change factors impact arctic and alpine ecosystems.  He eventually plans to teach at the university level. Adam's interest in ecology comes from spending his last two summers at the Cedar Creek and Niwot Ridge Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) sites maintaining large-scale, multi-decadal ecological experiments. He looks forward to starting his senior thesis on arctic shrubs at the Toolik Lake field station in the North Slope of Alaska with Professors Natalie Boelman and Kevin Griffin this summer.  He is the coordinator of Greenborough, Columbia's environmental house, the leader of a campus composting initiative, and enjoys running, hiking, and picking his banjo.

Goldwater candidates are nominated by their colleges and universities and chosen on the basis of academic merit; the pool this year exceeded 1,100 candidates. Columbia nominees are selected by a committee comprised of faculty from a variety of disciplines across the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

Related:

Three Columbia Students Win Goldwater Scholarships, Columbia College News and Updates.