Several Indian American College Students Among 410 Recipients of Goldwater Scholarships

Several Indian Americans are among recipients of the Goldwater scholarships awarded for the 2021-2022 academic year to 410 college students from across the U.S. They were selected from an estimated pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors nominated by 438 academic institutions. 

The scholarships are awarded by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation which was established by Congress in 1986 to serve as a living memorial to honor the lifetime work of Senator Barry Goldwater, who served his country for 56 years as a soldier and statesman, including 30 years in the U.S. Senate. 

Following are the Indian American scholarship recipients according to the state they are originally from.

ALABAMA

Aaditya Rau of Johns Hopkins University. 
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. Conduct research in modeling of the synthesis and processing of advanced materials at an academic institution.

Karthik Reddy of University of Alabama at Birmingham
Career Goal: Ph.D. in cognitive neuroscience. I hope to investigate the neural mechanisms involved in memory and learning impairments experienced by children with complex medical conditions.

CALIFORNIA

Aditi Gnanasekar of University of California-San Diego
Career Goal: M.D./Ph.D. in Computational Medicine. To treat patients and lead own research group to develop more effective and affordable cancer diagnostic and treatment technologies.

Pratyush Muthukumar of University of California-Irvine
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Machine Learning. To research and develop ethical and effective machine learning models that increase interconnectivity and altruism among people, especially in the healthcare setting.

Maya Mysore of University of California-Davis
Career Goal: M.D./Ph.D. degree, with a Ph.D. in bioengineering. Practice medicine and run a medical research lab with a focus on developing technologies to treat chronic illnesses.

CONNECTICUT

Seema Patel of University of Connecticut
Career Goal: M.D./Ph.D. in pharmacology. Conduct basic and translational research in oncology, specifically developing novel anti-cancer drugs, and teach at the medical/graduate school level.

FLORIDA

Sidhika Balachandar of Stanford University
Career Goal: Obtain a Ph.D. in Computer Science. Become a professor to teach and conduct research in the use of artificial intelligence for computational biology.

Shovan Bhatia of Georgia Institute of Technology-Main CampusCareer Goal: MD/PhD in Neuroengineering, combining novel engineering-based strategies to improve the functional independence and quality of life of people living with neurological impairments.

GEORGIA

Chetna Batra of Georgia State University
Career Goal: M.D./Ph.D. in Microbiology. Conduct research on the intersection between microbiology and public health. Applying medical knowledge to study lipid-related diseases at the cellular level.

HAWAII

Geetika Patwardhan of University of Hawaii at Manoa
Career Goal: Obtain an M.D./Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Conduct research as a physician-scientist in Hawaii.

ILLINOIS 

Ashma Pandya of University of Illinois at Chicago
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Biophysics. Interested in studying the transition from physiochemical to biological systems, first at a national lab and then at a university.

MARYLAND 

Sanketh Andhavarapu of University of Maryland-College Park
Career Goal: MD/PhD in neuroscience. Conduct laboratory and translational research to formulate therapies for neurological diseases using insights from my clinical practice at an academic medical institution.

Naveen Durvasula of University of California-Berkeley
Career Goal: Ph.D. in computer science, specializing in theory and artificial intelligence. Develop tools with the potential to impact many as a professor of computer science.

Karan Luthria of University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Career Goal: Ph.D. in computational biology and to lead a research team in developing computational tools to improve our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases.

Naveen Raman of University of Maryland-College Park
Career Goal: Ph.D. in computer science. To become a professor and research the fairness of artificial intelligence algorithms in critical fields such as criminal justice, job markets, and health care.

MICHIGAN

Anjini Chandra of California Institute of Technology
Career Goal: Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and later conduct research in fluid mechanics and teach at the university level.

Karthik Ravi of University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Career Goal: MD/PhD and work as a research scientist in the field of pediatric neuro-oncology at an academic research institution.

NEW JERSEY

Joheen Chakraborty of Columbia University in the City of New York
Career Goal:To pursue research at the intersection of computing and astrophysics, using computational tools to assist with analysis of massive datasets and numerical simulations of complex physical systems.

Harshini Raman of Wellesley College
Career Goal: PhD in Neuroscience; MD, specialization in Psychiatry. Conduct research in Neuroscience and teach at a university hospital.

Sreya Sanyal of New Jersey Institute of Technology
M.D./Ph.D. in Cancer Biology. To conduct translational research that optimizes and delivers novel cancer therapeutics and to teach at the graduate level.

Kevan Shah of Muhlenberg College
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Neuroscience. Conduct research on the underpinnings of memory and their implications for Alzheimer’s dementia and related diseases.

NEW YORK

Anoop Kiran of University at Buffalo
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering, focused on Aerodynamics and Fluids. Focus to improve existing flight dynamics capabilities by serving at a national lab following my Ph.D.

Ishaan Madan of Wheaton College

Career Goal: Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry. Conduct research in Astrobiology and collaborate in space exploration missions for ocean world environments – aiming to understand the emergence of precursors of life. 

Arvind Mahankali of Carnegie Mellon University
Career Goal: Ph.D. in computer science, focusing on algorithms and machine learning. To teach and conduct research in these topics at the university level.

Tara Venkatadri of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Career Goal: PhD in Aerospace Engineering. Conduct research that advances the field of space exploration and helps humanity travel to and learn more about the planets around us.

NORTH CAROLINA 

Karna Morey of Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Physics, and to use science to help make the world a better place and to teach and do research at the university level.

OHIO

Sanjeeth Rajaram of University of Cincinnati-Main Campus
Career Goal: MD/PhD in Immunology. Conduct basic/translational research on autoimmunity at a collaborative academic medical center to create therapies for immunological disease.

PENNSYLVANIA 

Shiker Nair of Johns Hopkins University
Career Goal: M.D./Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. Lead a research team specializing in applying bioinformatics and computational biology to precision medicine.

TEXAS

Shrika Eddula of University of North Texas
Career Goal: Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Conduct research in cheminformatics and develop safer, cost-effective solutions for greenhouse gases, environmental degradation, and carcinogenic solvents.

Sai Sarnala of University of North Texas
Career Goal: Ph.D. in Plant Genetics. Develop transgenic plant lines to provide novel methods for pharmaceutical development and disease prevention.

VIRGINIA

Saket Bikmal of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Career Goal: MD/Ph.D., specializing in Neural Engineering and Computational Neuroscience. Conduct medical device research, particularly focusing on neuro-assistive technologies for special needs children.

Anish Karpurapu of Duke University
Career Goal: MD/PhD in stem cell biology. To conduct research utilizing computational techniques to innovate in vitro modeling and drug discovery.

Anirban Mahanty of Virginia Commonwealth University
Career Goal: MD/PhD in molecular biology, conducting basic science research related to neurodevelopment.

WISCONSIN

Manasa Kalluri of University of Wisconsin-Madison
Career Goal: M.D./Ph.D. in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. Conduct research on stem cell therapies and treatment optimization for neurological disorders, leading a research group at an academic institution.