The University of Alabama

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program has selected four University of Alabama students as Goldwater Scholars for 2017-2018. From 2007 to 2017, UA is No. 1 in the United States for Goldwater Scholars with 31. Harvard is second with 29. UA is one of only four institutions - along with Stanford, Princeton and Iowa State - to have as many as four nominees selected this year. In addition, 2017 is the third time in the past seven years that UA has had all four nominees selected for this award. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 a year for up to two years. The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on Nov. 14, 1986. The scholarship program honoring U.S. Barry Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

Neal Paschal, a civil engineering student from Columbia, South Carolina, has been named a 2017 Traffic Safety Scholar. With the recognition, Paschal has been awarded a $1,000 scholarship to attend the 35th annual National Lifesavers Conference on Highway Safety Priorities in Charlotte, North Carolina, from March 25-28.

Moriah S. Smoot, a law student from Mansfield, Texas, has been awarded the 2017 Donald W. Banner Diversity Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship will be provided to her for use during the Fall 2017 semester at The University of Alabama School of Law.

Claire Belson, a chemical engineering student from Cary, North Carolina, was selected to receive the Guy Bourdeau Scholarship given by the Additive Manufacturing Users Group. As the scholarship recipient, she will attend the 2017 Additive Manufacturing Users Group Conference in Chicago from March 19-23.

Two students in the department of geological sciences recently received $5,000 by winning the first University of Alabama Outstanding Research Competition. The competition funds theses and dissertations that perform cutting-edge research related to the assessment and treatment of chemical contaminants in soil and groundwater.