Engineering, Music Student Wins 戈德华特 学者hip

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发布于2024年4月8日

托马斯Becnel

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保罗阮, a scholar 和 音乐ian at the 十大彩票网投平台, used undergraduate research in protein 生物物理学 to earn a prestigious 2024 戈德华特 学者hip for 优秀理科生.

In his spare time, the 20-year-old sophomore won a Gulf Coast Steinway Society piano competition 和 got the chance to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City. 他扮演 弗朗兹·李斯特的《十大彩票平台官网》.

“It was a little nerve-wracking, being on one of the biggest stages in the world,” 他说，“但我觉得很有趣.”

Nguyen plans to attend medical school after graduating from 南 in 2026. 他在看 报名攻读双学位硕士.D.-Ph.D. 以生物医学工程为重点的课程. 在十大彩票网投平台，他主修 音乐 和 化学工程.

Dr. Christy Wheeler West, associate professor of 化学工程, met Nguyen 他选修了她的一门本科课程. 离开时，她对他的两个儿子都印象深刻 学业和社交能力.

“保罗’s absolutely brilliant, but he’s also a team player 和 有趣的 to have in class,” 西说. “I can’t tell you how many times I had a student in my office who’d had a question, 和 they’d say, ‘I was confused about that part, but then I talked to 保罗.这句话成了整个学期的重复.”

Nguyen grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, just outside Portl和, 和 thought he might study 西海岸的工程. Instead, he crossed the country to enroll at the University of 南 Alabama, where his mother, Teresa Tran, earned a degree in mathematics in 1990.

In Mobile, he hasn’t picked up a 南ern accent, or learned to say “y’all,” but he 喜欢吃小龙虾吗.

阮继续在南方弹奏钢琴. 他喜欢和学生合奏团一起表演 在校园. 他在假日音乐会上演奏了二重唱.

“Piano is a very solitary instrument,” 他说, “so it’s great when I get a chance 和别人一起玩.”

Nguyen still enjoys the rigor 和 discipline of solo performances. 今年春天他 准备在塔斯卡卢萨参加比赛.  

“My favorite composer is Sergei Rachmaninoff – I think he’s cool,” 他说. “我学习 his third piano concerto right now 和 that piece is a monster.”

在南, Nguyen has been active in Alpha Epsilon Delta, the health honor society, along with the American Society for Biochemistry 和 Molecular Biology 和 the Society 亚洲科学家和工程师. 对于这些团体，他经常帮助协调活动 和筹款活动.

“It does require a bit of creativity, 和 I do plan a lot of the meetings 和 workshops,” 他说. “We’re in the process of planning a hack-a-thon, which should be a lot of 有趣的.”

Nguyen follows a busy schedule of classwork 和 study, but said he has found time 音乐和工程以外的课程. 在一堂计算机课上，他学会了 c++编程语言的基础知识.

This summer, he hopes to continue his last summer’s research at Princeton University 研究蛋白质聚集. 在那里，他花了九周的时间进行研究体验 for Undergraduates program 有趣的ded by the National Science Foundation. 他使用电脑 模拟研究蛋白质聚集. Jerelle约瑟夫.

The Barry 戈德华特 学者hip 和 Excellence in Education Program was established 1986年，为了纪念亚利桑那州参议员. Barry M. 戈德华特. 奖学金鼓励 highly qualified students who intend to pursue careers in science, mathematics 和 工程.

Nguyen will receive $7,500 a year for the rest of his undergraduate career. 全国 award should help his applications to medical school. 它已经为 他.

“Now that I’m in that network,” 他说, “I’m connected to a whole group of people 对研究感兴趣.”

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