The Office for National Scholarship advisement is thrilled to announce that Ivy Li and Austin Wallace have been awarded the prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

The Goldwater is one of the oldest and most prestigious national scholarships in STEM. It supports exceptional sophomores and juniors who show promise in becoming the next generation of research leaders in these fields. This year, 410 scholarships were awarded from a pool of 1,256 outstanding undergraduates nominated by 438 institutions. Ivy and Austin follow in the footsteps of UM Goldwater scholars William Meador and Jax Dallas (2020) and Addison Roush (2019).

Austin Wallace is a junior who grew up in a military family that moved frequently around the United States. He is pursuing a BS in chemistry at the University of Mississippi. “Throughout my life, I have been fascinated by the natural world and working in a computational research group has turned that spark of curiosity into a potential career path. I plan to continue my research in graduate school as I work towards a PhD in computational chemistry.”

Ivy Li is a junior from Oxford, MS and is a chemistry major. She has been working with the Delcamp Research Group on the synthesis and applications of organic, strong photooxidants in solar-to-fuel conversion. She plans to continue to graduate school for a PhD in chemistry. “In the future, I want to lead my own research group at a national laboratory that focuses on designing, synthesizing, and applying novel, organic molecules for renewable energy purposes.”

Ivy and Austin presented an incredible commitment to a career in research, a display of intellectual curiosity and proven contributions in their fields.

Congratulation to our 2021 Goldwater scholars Ivy Li and Austin Wallace!

Want to be a future Goldwater winner? Contact Dr. Ibrahim at the Office of National Scholarship Advisement at vibrahim@olemiss.edu.