New College Student
Josh Abbott Receives Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship in Math
(April 22, 2008) -- Josh Abbott admits that his initial
calculations were a bit off when it came to choosing a college.
But after searching for answers at Penn State University and
Humboldt State, Abbott says he finally found the perfect
solution at New College of Florida.
Earlier this month, the
third year math student reaped the reward of this successful
formula when he was awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship,
one of only 321 students nationwide to be selected for one of the prestigious prizes
in mathematics, engineering and the natural sciences.
A native of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Abbott discovered New
College while attending a summer undergraduate research retreat for the PascGalois
project, sponsored in part by New College math professor Eirini
Poimenidou.
“After meeting Professor Poimenidou, I knew right away that I
wanted to transfer to New College,” says Abbott. “Since coming
here, I’ve enjoyed the ability to design a curriculum around
my interests and to work with faculty members like professors
McDonald and Henckell.” In Abbott’s case, much of that
curriculum design has centered on computer science with a heavy
emphasis on mathematical theory.
Since arriving at New College in fall 2007, Abbott has
co-authored two papers, both of which appeared in the mathematics
journal Congressus Numerantium; given several seminar
talks; and presented his research at the 38th and 39th Southeastern
International Conference on Combinatorics, Graph Theory, and
Computing, the latter of which was held at Florida Atlantic University this
past March.
He is currently working with math professor Pat McDonald, a
graduate of MIT and former Florida College-Level Math Teacher of
the Year, developing the code for a genetic algorithm to help
solve inverse problems related to networks. Abbott’s essay to
the Goldwater Scholarship Committee documented his research with
Professor McDonald.
In addition to his academic interests, Abbott is a member of
American Mensa, the Association for the Advancement of
Artificial Intelligence, and the National Society of Collegiate
Scholars. He also volunteers time tutoring students preparing
for GRE examinations for admission to graduate school and is a tournament level foosball player. Following
his anticipated graduation from New College in 2009, he hopes to
pursue a Ph.D. in cognitive science.
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship program was designed to honor
the late senator by fostering and encouraging outstanding
students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the
natural sciences, and engineering. The scholarships are the
premier undergraduate awards of their type in these fields and
provide recipients up to $7,500 per year to cover the cost
of tuition, fees, books, and room and board.
Recent Goldwater Scholars have been awarded 70 Rhodes
Scholarships, 94 Marshall Awards, and numerous other
distinguished fellowships. This year’s award winners were
selected from a field of 1,035 mathematics, science, and
engineering students, each of whom were nominated by faculty
members from their colleges and universities nationwide.
For more information on New College of Florida Barry M.
Goldwater Scholar Josh Abbott, contact the Office of Public
Affairs at (941) 487-4150 or email
publicaffairs@ncf.edu.
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