{"id":237606,"date":"2026-04-06T20:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/237606\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T20:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T20:05:09","slug":"three-texas-tech-students-selected-as-2026-goldwater-scholars-april-2026-texas-tech-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/237606\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Texas Tech Students Selected as 2026 Goldwater Scholars | April 2026 | Texas Tech Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                     This marks the first time in 20 years the university has had three students receive<br \/>\n                        the prestigious and highly competitive honor.<\/p>\n<p>\t\tCREATORS<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/doug-hensley.jpg\" alt=\"Portrait of Doug Hensley\"\/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ttu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Texas Tech University<\/a> students Eli Heath, Dylan Jenkins and Kaleb Jewell have been selected as 2026 Goldwater<br \/>\n                           Scholars, the organization sponsoring the prestigious and highly competitive undergraduate<br \/>\n                           awards announced.<\/p>\n<p>Heath, an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/honors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Honors College<\/a> student also serving this year as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastech.edu\/board-of-regents\/bio-heath.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">student regent<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastech.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Texas Tech University System<\/a>\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastech.edu\/board-of-regents\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Board of Regents<\/a>, is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/che\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">chemical engineering<\/a> major with a double minor in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/coe\/bioengineering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">bioengineering<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/biology\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">biology<\/a>. Jewell is a chemical engineering student while Jenkins is also an Honors College<br \/>\n                           student majoring in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/psy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">psychological sciences<\/a> with a double minor in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/philosophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">philosophy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/philosophy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">cognitive science<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGoldwater recognition represents a national standard of research excellence at the<br \/>\n                           undergraduate level for STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students,\u201d<br \/>\n                           said Honors College Dean <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/honors\/about\/facultystaff\/bios\/Jill_Hernandez.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Jill Hernandez<\/a>. \u201cIt is a mark of prestige to have faculty like we do here at Texas Tech who do a<br \/>\n                           great job mentoring undergraduate students in STEM research. As a result, we have<br \/>\n                           a long history of Goldwater Scholars.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Texas Tech students were selected from a pool of almost 1,500 college sophomores<br \/>\n                           and juniors nominated by 482 academic institutions. The Goldwater Foundation is a<br \/>\n                           federally endowed scholarship program designated to identify, encourage and financially<br \/>\n                           support undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering<br \/>\n                           and mathematics. The scholarship is considered the preeminent undergraduate award<br \/>\n                           of its type in these fields.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Goldwater Scholarship recognizes the intellectual contribution and STEM skills<br \/>\n                           our undergraduate students contribute to the university\u2019s research enterprise and<br \/>\n                           supports their journey in becoming world-class scientists,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.depts.ttu.edu\/honors\/about\/facultystaff\/bios\/archie_pitsilides.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Archie Pitsilides<\/a>, director of prestigious external student awards.<\/p>\n<p>                        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Eli-Heath.jpg\" alt=\"Eli Heath\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Dylan-Jenkins.jpg\" alt=\"Dylan Jenkins \"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Caleb-Jewell.JPG\" alt=\"Kaleb Jewell\"\/>Eli Heath, Dylan Jenkins and Kaleb Jewell<\/p>\n<p>Heath\u2019s research essay was titled, \u201cInvestigating the Role of HIV Antiretroviral Therapy<br \/>\n                           in Modulating Cancer Initiation and Progression: A Proteogenomic Approach.\u201d He said<br \/>\n                           his plans include leading translational research to develop next-generation cancer<br \/>\n                           therapies and drive breakthroughs in cancer treatment.<\/p>\n<p>Jewell\u2019s essay was titled, \u201cDeveloping Iron-Selective Organic Electrochemical Transistors.\u201d<br \/>\n                           He plans to earn his doctoral degree in materials science and engineering while researching<br \/>\n                           innovative nanomaterials with emergent photonic and optoelectronic behaviors for next-generation<br \/>\n                           nanosensors.<\/p>\n<p>Jenkins plans to earn a doctorate in experimental psychology with a concentration<br \/>\n                           in cognitive psychology and become a tenure-track professor. His research essay was<br \/>\n                           titled, \u201cDigital Accessibility and the Cognitive Dynamics of Technology Mediated Consent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is one of the numerous metrics that feeds into AAU aspirations,\u201d Hernandez explained,<br \/>\n                           \u201cbecause one AAU metric looks at research production of our students, and having these<br \/>\n                           Goldwater Scholars differentiates us. Of course, the goal will be to continue to add<br \/>\n                           to that total to make sure we\u2019re continuing to place multiple students.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to records, Texas Tech also had three Goldwater Scholars in 1996, 2000 and<br \/>\n                           2006. The historical high-water mark for the university occurred in 1995 with four<br \/>\n                           Goldwater Scholars.<\/p>\n<p>Through its current ongoing partnerships, the Goldwater Board will award 454 scholarships<br \/>\n                           for the 2026-27 academic year. With these awards, more than 11,000 scholarships will<br \/>\n                           have been given through the foundation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Goldwater Scholarship recognizes students who have the curiosity, discipline<br \/>\n                           and vision to become the next generation of research leaders,\u201d said Dr. Chandra S.<br \/>\n                           Pemmasani, founder and CEO of UWorld.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This marks the first time in 20 years the university has had three students receive the prestigious and&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39691,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":{"0":"post-237606","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-texas","9":"tag-texas-headlines","10":"tag-texas-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}