New College Student Josh Abbott Receives Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship in Math
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 [email protected].