News Archives - 2007

Brian Krohn, an Augsburg College junior from Cloquet, Minn., is the recipient of a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for the 2007-08 academic year. Krohn will graduate in December 2008 with a major in chemistry and minor in biology.

The Scholarship Program, honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater, was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields. A total of 317 scholarships were awarded for the 2007-2008 academic year from a field of 1,110 nominated students. Additionally, Augsburg had two honorable mentions – Kent Bodurtha and Reid Larson, both in Physics.

"It feels really great," Krohn says. "I put in a ton of hours crafting that application and revising everything. I think when it was done I had gone through about 13 drafts. Most of that was thanks to Dixie [Shafer, Director of Office for Undergraduate Research and Graduate Opportunity] because even when I thought I was done and she was really busy with the McNair grant, she took the time to look it over and point out how it could be better."

Krohn did research last summer through URGO under the mentorship of Dr. Arlin Gyberg. This summer, Krohn will join a research group at the Graz Technical Institute in Austria. "Like the Goldwater, I found out about this from Dixie," he says. The program is funded through the National Science Foundation. Krohn applied to five programs and was accepted into two, the Austria program as well as the UCSD pharmacology program.

Krohn anticipates that the Goldwater will help with future scholarships; particularly those that help fund research outside of the country such as the Fulbright. He would like to serve through an aid organization internationally between graduation and starting graduate school in chemistry. Long-term plans include conducting pharmacology research at a major university and eventually continuing an active research career in a more intimate teaching environment at a small liberal arts college.

For more information on undergraduate and graduate research opportunities, visit http://www.augsburg.edu/urgo/.