Two Creighton students named Goldwater Scholars
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Creighton University remains the premier Goldwater Scholar-producing Catholic university, with two more students – both within the Department of Mathematics – winning the prestigious award in 2024.
This year, Creighton’s Goldwater Scholars are Hannah Graff, a junior math, data science and musical theatre triple major from Winona, Minnesota, and Riley Link, a junior math major from Pflugerville, Texas.
During the past 20 years, Creighton has led all Catholic universities as a recipient of Goldwater honors.
- In the past decade, 20 Creighton students were named Goldwater scholars.
- Since 2006, Creighton has been awarded 31 Goldwater Scholarships, the most awarded to any Catholic university during that period.
The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the nation’s most respected academic awards for STEM researchers. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1986, it is named after Senator Barry Goldwater to honor his exemplary service to his country. The scholarship is awarded to college sophomores and juniors who are pursuing research careers in natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
This year, 438 students nationwide were selected to receive the award from a pool of more than 5,000 college sophomores and juniors.
That Creighton is the leading Catholic university in Goldwater Scholars is not surprising to Erin Gross, PhD, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the campus Goldwater representative for the past eight years.
“Creighton attracts strong students because of the caliber of our programs and opportunity to participate in undergraduate research. Many of these opportunities can start as early as freshman year,” she says.
Creighton attracts strong students because of the caliber of our programs and opportunity to participate in undergraduate research. Many of these opportunities can start as early as freshman year.
— Erin Gross, PhD, professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the campus Goldwater representative for the past eight years
Both Graff and Link have participated in research on campus but also in REU (research experience for undergraduates) programs at other universities.
“Admittance into these programs is competitive and the students' success in these programs is a testament to both the quality of the students and the excellence of our undergraduate programs,” says Gross.
Graff’s work at the MathiLy-EST REU at Bryn Mawr College fueled publication of her work, titled “Almost all wreath product character values are divisible by given primes,” in the online academic journal Algebraic Combinatorics. She studied spectral graph theory at Iowa State’s REU last summer and submitted a resulting paper to The Electronic Journal of Linear Algebra. This summer, Graff will participate in an equitable data science data REU at the University of Minnesota.
After realizing his interest in applied math, Link joined the Directed Research for Undergraduates in Mathematics and Statistics (DRUMS) program at North Carolina State University, where he studied optimal control theory, a topic he continues to research today.
Graff has worked with Steven Fernandes, PhD, associate professor of computer science in the Department of Computer Science, Design and Journalism, on code that allows Misty II, a robot developed with AI, to be conversational, recognize faces, navigate obstacles and detect temperatures. She presented their Misty II research at Creighton’s University Research Week. Currently, she is continuing her partnership with Fernandes on deepfake research and is also studying neural networks with Alexander Kunin, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics.
“I am particularly interested in research involving graph theory,” Graff says. She’s intrigued by its applications to modeling real world situations.
“At Creighton, I knew I was not just another number and that people cared about me and my future. I was able to find my passion in life – math.”
— Riley Link, junior math major and Goldwater Scholar
And Nathan Pennington, PhD, chair of the Department of Mathematics, encouraged her to not only find research projects but develop and present her ideas at symposiums across the nation, including Boston, San Francisco, Lincoln and Tampa, Florida.
Ironically, she never considered herself a researcher because she didn’t think there were many opportunities for it in mathematics. But she found a community that invested in her and afforded her ample opportunities.
Link has gravitated to the field of applied math, calling it “the perfect intersection of heavy, complicated math and fulfilling research” with real-world applications.
He offers this situation as an example of his recent research in optimal control theory: “Imagine you are flying a space shuttle re-entering the atmosphere and you want to hit a certain target. If parameters change midflight, say atmospheric density changes or the wings get bent, you want to be able to make an adjustment while flying to ensure that you still reach your target.”
Link intends to pursue a PhD in applied mathematics with the ultimate goal of working for a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC), such as the Department of Energy National Laboratory or the Department of Defense Center, where he can conduct research that addresses large, national problems.
“Overall, I plan to make a difference in the world with my mathematical knowledge,” Link says.
“I did not know what I wanted to do with my life when I decided to come to Creighton. I didn’t even know what research, or a research-based career, was,” he says. “However, Creighton’s research-focused culture allowed me to discuss research opportunities with professors who encouraged me to look into many different fields to determine what I enjoy. I knew I was not just another number and that people cared about me and my future. I was able to find my passion in life – math.”
