James Trevathan's professor calls him "one of those students who make it really fun to come to work every day."
It's easy to see why; the Gustavus Adolphus College physics student spent one summer helping develop a new technique to identify kidney stones at the Mayo Clinic. Another year, he delved into acoustics research in a Gustavus lab. If that wasn't enough, he's also studied lasers in an optics lab at the college.
Thanks in part to a thirst for knowledge and his dedication to several areas of study, Trevathan was awarded a 2013 Goldwater Scholarship. The scholarship, created by the United States Congress in 1986, honors outstanding undergraduate students pursuing careers in mathematics.
Trevathan was one of only 271 students across the country to earn the award this year; he was selected from a pool of 1,107 applicants, according to a news release issued by Gustavus Adolphus. The $7,500 scholarship covers the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board for two years.
"The entire physics department is very pleased to learn that James received a prestigious Goldwater award," Professor of Physics Paul Saulnier wrote in the news release. "Interacting with accomplished students, who are also fine people, is one of the great joys of working at Gustavus. Our students make us proud and James certainly continues this tradition."
After he graduates from Gustavus in the spring of 2014, Trevathan is planning to apply for a seven-year graduate school program at Mayo that would allow him to earn both an M.D. and a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, according to the news release.
"It is an honor to receive as prestigious an award as the Goldwater Scholarship, and it would not have been possible without the support of the Gustavus Physics Department and other faculty," Trevathan said.
