Marshall University Honors College student Tuesday B. Moats has received an honorable mention in the 2014 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship competition.
The Goldwater Scholarship is the nation’s premier undergraduate award designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.
A native of Sugar Grove, Moats is a junior double majoring in microbiology and in ecology, evolution and behavioral biology. She also is pursuing a minor in mathematics. After graduation, she plans to pursue a doctorate in microbiology or ecology, with the goal of conducting research and teaching at the university level.
For the past year, Moats has been doing research focused on the metabolic theory of ecology using freshwater mussels and conducted in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Kovatch, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Marshall. She has accepted an offer to participate this summer in a National Science Foundation-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Oregon State University, where she will be working on a project to study the diversity of deep sea vents.
Honors College Dean Dr. Ronald Bieniek congratulated Moats, saying, “We are extremely pleased for Tuesday to be recognized at the national level by the Goldwater Foundation trustees for her scholarship and research. She is a truly outstanding student and her achievements reflect favorably on her, the Honors College and the entire Marshall campus. I look forward to watching her scientific career continue to develop and have no doubt she will be involved in helping to solve some of the difficult challenges our global society faces.
“We understand that engaging in undergraduate research is increasingly important for Marshall students to be competitive for graduate school, as well as for national and international scholarships and fellowships. I am proud that Marshall is able to provide nationally competitive research experiences to our undergraduates, as evidenced by Tuesday’s success. I am also very pleased with the voluntary efforts of the campus Goldwater Review Committee to help our students hone their applications.”
Moats said, “It is very encouraging for me to receive national recognition and it affirms that I have chosen the right field. I have been able to find the right career choice through my experiences at Marshall and in the Honors College. I am very excited for the opportunity I’ve been given this summer at Oregon State, and I hope to bring some of my experiences back with me to Marshall.”
Moats has served as president of the Marshall University Biology Club and is a member of the Honors College Student Association, the National Society for Collegiate Scholars and the Outdoor Adventure Club. She has been recognized in “Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.”
Besides being a Learning Assistant in the Department of Biological Sciences, where she tutors students in the introductory biology courses, she also is a volunteer with the Adopt-A-Highway Program and has worked on the university’s annual “Brain Expo” program for elementary school children.