Two students win Goldwater scholarships

Two Duke juniors have been named Barry M. Goldwater Scholars in science, mathematics and engineering, the University announced Tuesday.

Kenneth Hoehn, an Angier B. Duke scholar from Canton, Ga. and Clara Starkweather, an Angier B. Duke scholar from Athens, Ga., won the award in recognition of their undergraduate research in the sciences, according to a Duke news release Tuesday. Through the national award, Hoehn and Starkweather are eligible for up to $7,500 toward annual tuition and expenses.

Hoehn and Starkweather were selected based on their academic merit and were chosen from a pool of about 2,000 applicants. Congress founded the scholarship program in 1986 and is meant to support outstanding students in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. A total of 72 Duke students have been named Goldwater Scholars to date.

Hoehn, a biology major, has conducted genomics research with Mohamed Noor, Earl D. McLean professor and associate chair of biology, with a focus on the effects of codon mutation in fruit flies. The junior has also conducted paleobiology research, examining processes of extinction in coral with Louise Roth, associate professor of biology.

Starkwater, a biology major, has worked on neurology research with Richard Mooney, George Barth Geller professor of neurobiology, studying the neurological basis of vocal learning and memory in songbirds.

“My research examines the neural basis of vocal learning and memory in the songbird,” Starkweather wrote in an email Tuesday. “Specifically, I am investigating the role of auditory telencephalic regions in the maintenance of learned vocalizations.”

Starkweather is also an accomplished pianist and has performed previously for the Board of Trustees.