Academic Excellence On Display: Announcing Our Spring 2020 Student Scholarship Recipients

At the end of every school year, Georgia Tech’s College of Sciences recognizes a handful of undergraduate scholars for their excellence in academic achievements. This spring, five students have been honored for their academic excellence. Please join us in congratulating and celebrating this year's undergraduate award recipients:
 

Rachel Walter

Walter is the winner of the Robert A. Pierotti Memorial Scholarship. This award is presented to a top graduating senior in the College of Sciences. It is an endowment gift of the family and friends of former dean Robert Pierotti.

Walter, an Earth & Atmospheric Sciences major, researches under the guidance of Professor Kim Cobb. She is the summer 2019 winner of the Rutt Bridges Undergraduate Initiative Award. Her research on “The influence of calibration method, interval, and resolution on Sr/Ca-SST slopes” was presented at the International Conference on Paleoceanography in Sydney, Australia, in 2019.

Maxwell Conte

Conte is the winner of the Cynthia L. Bossart and James Efron Scholarship, presented to a top out-of-state junior in the College of Sciences. It is an endowment gift of Cynthia Bossart and James Efron.

Conte, from Bowling Green, KY, majors in chemistry and chemical & biomolecular engineering. His research is under the guidance of Professor Seth Marder. Conte’s nanoparticle research article with Professor Lee Yi appeared in the journal Biosensors and Bioelectronics, and in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 2019. In 2013, Conte appeared in an article in the Bowling Green Daily News as a local seventh-grader who was recognized for his ACT scores.

Berna Aliya

Aliya is the recipient of the Mehta Phingbodhipakkiya Undergraduate Memorial Scholarship, presented to a top junior in the College of Sciences. It is an endowment gift of daughter Maranee Phing.

Aliya, a neuroscience major, studies with Professor Young Jang in the School of Biological Sciences. The research assesses the role of the muscle stem cell on mitochondrial biogenesis. She is a scholar in the Center for Chemical Evolution.

Tsvetomira Peykova

Peykova is the winner of the Virginia C. and Herschel V. Clanton Jr. Scholarship, presented to a top pre-medical student in the College of Sciences. It is an endowment gift of Herschel V. Clanton

Peykova, a junior biology major, conducts research with Professor Young Jang. Her research examines SOD2 activity in muscle samples following critical limb ischemia. She does medical volunteer work at Grady Memorial and Emory University Hospitals.

Collin Spencer

Spencer is the recipient of the 2020 Roger M. Wartell and Stephen E. Brossette Award, presented to a student who researches at the intersection of physics, mathematics, and biological sciences. It is an endowment gift of Stephen Brossette.

Spencer, a major in the School of Biological Sciences, researches with Professor Greg Gibson. His studies involve developing new machine learning methods for single cell RNA-seq data to characterize cell type heterogeneity in Autism Spectrum Disorder. He served as director and research consortium chair for the February 2019 Intercollegiate Mental Health Conference at Georgia Tech. He is also the founder of the Georgia Tech Mental Health Joint Allocations Committee.