Two students from the Tickle College of Engineering have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships for the 2026–27 academic year.
Chosen for their exceptional promise in STEM research, juniors Samuel Barbour and Jai Mehta were selected from an estimated pool of 1,485 nominees representing 482 academic institutions. Barbour and Mehta were the only students from the University of Tennessee selected this year.
The Goldwater Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to honor the lifetime work of Sen. Barry Goldwater. The Goldwater Scholarship—widely regarded as the preeminent undergraduate STEM award—is awarded to outstanding college sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Awardees each receive up to $7,500 annually to cover tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Including Barbour and Mehta, 35 UT have students have been named Goldwater Scholars since 2010.
Barbour, a Kingsport, Tennessee native, is the first civil engineering student from UT to ever be awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. Mehta, a Mt. Juliet, Tennessee native, is the third computer science student from UT to earn the scholarship.
“This is a tremendous achievement for these students, the Tickle College of Engineering and the university. Even among the exceptional students in the Tickle College, Barbour and Mehta stand out for their dedication and excellence,” said TCE Dean Matthew Mench, the Wayne T. Davis Dean’s Chair of the college. “I am so happy to see these students recognized for their exceptional efforts and early career trajectory.”
The Goldwater Scholarship will support Barbour’s journey to postgraduate research in civil engineering with a focus on developing intelligent transportation systems for safer, faster, and more efficient transportation.
“Being selected for the Goldwater Scholarship affirms my dedication to researching intelligent transportation systems as I pursue postgraduate research,” Barbour said. “I am grateful for my mentors, friends, and family that have challenged me to think critically about how engineering can meaningfully address our ongoing transportation challenges.”
Along with computer science, Mehta is also studying computational biology and biomedical machine learning. His minors are pre-health professions and machine learning.
The Goldwater Scholarship will support Mehta in his research at the intersection of computer science and biology, where he aims to harness deep learning for systems and structural biology.
“I am truly humbled and blessed to receive this scholarship—it is a direct reflection of the support and mentorship I have been extremely grateful to receive,” Mehta said. “I aspire to continue my research efforts, driving the change I hope to see in the world.”
Contact
Rhiannon Potkey ([email protected])