Ryan Urban ’26, a sophomore physics major with ambitions of earning doctorates in theoretical physics and quantum computing, with the ultimate goal of pursuing a research career in the quantum realm, is Longwood’s 2024 nominee for the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship.
The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier scholarship for science, technology, engineering and math undergraduates in the country. Awards go to students who plan to pursue careers in scientific research and inquiry.
At just 19 years old, Urban is already an accomplished researcher and is on track to become the first Longwood student to graduate with a concentration in engineering physics. Last summer, he was selected to participate in the PRISM summer research program, an intense one-on-one research experience with a faculty mentor.
Though he is a physics major, he was selected for a PRISM project in mathematics. As he dove into the topic, polyhyperbolic splines, Urban saw additional possibilities to expand on the work. His mentor, Dr. Jeff Ledford, was unsure there was enough time to do the extra research.
Ryan’s curiosity and ability (not to mention his work ethic) directly made our project much better than I envisioned and frankly what I thought possible from undergraduates in such a short time.
Dr. Jeff Ledford Tweet This
“I should not have been concerned,” wrote Ledford in a nomination letter for the Goldwater Scholarship. “By the end of the week we had the relevant conjectures proved. This, in turn, led to more work on Ryan’s part to develop an algorithm to display the shape-preserving properties of hyperbolic splines as well as other qualitative features. Ryan’s curiosity and ability (not to mention his work ethic) directly made our project much better than I envisioned and frankly what I thought possible from undergraduates in such a short time.”
In 2023, the Goldwater Foundation awarded scholarships to 412 students out of more than 5,000 applicants. That percentage makes it among the most competitive scholarships available to college students.
Urban, who is a member of the Cormier Honors College and maintains a perfect 4.0 grade-point average, also plans to apply for a Fulbright fellowship to dive deeper into the world of quantum computing after he graduates from Longwood.
Goldwater Scholars are announced at the end of March.
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