Four Undergraduate Scientists Named 2026 Goldwater Scholars

“Congratulations to Duke’s newest Goldwater Scholars,” Provost Alec D. Gallimore said. “Duke is tremendously proud of these dedicated students and their pursuit of discoveries that will lead to greater human flourishing. My thanks also go to the many Duke faculty who have supported and challenged these remarkable undergraduates and provided opportunities for them to learn, grow, and thrive.” 

A.B. Duke Scholar Daniel Levin is a double major in chemistry and biology and plans to complete an honors thesis in each field before he graduates. Levin, a junior, has studied across chemical engineering, materials science, developmental biology, and immunology, and has worked under the faculty mentorship of professors Christopher Holley, Gregory Wray, and Ashutosh Chilkoti at Duke University, as well as professor Tagbo H. R. Niepa at Carnegie Mellon University. Levin has also served as a teaching assistant for Professor James Parise in chemistry. Upon graduation, Levin will pursue a Ph.D. in chemical biology and conduct research in the field of membrane dynamics and lipid chemistry. 

Sophomore chemistry major Anushka Peer has conducted research in the School of Medicine’s Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology throughout her collegiate career. Working in Professor Joseph Heitman’s lab under the mentorship of Dr. Zhuyun Bian, she studies the virulence traits of the fungal pathogen Cryptococcus, with the goal of applying her findings to broader questions in infectious disease. Peer plans to pursue a Ph.D. in molecular microbiology, focusing on host–pathogen interactions, and is also deeply committed to leveraging her future career to advance STEM education in rural and low-income communities.

Biomedical engineering junior Emily Song is focused on developing innovative approaches to neural repair. As a Pratt Research Fellow and incoming Amgen Scholar in Professor Ashutosh Chilkoti’s lab, she engineers protein-based biomaterials to enhance regeneration following spinal cord and peripheral nerve injuries. She also conducts computational research under the mentorship of Professor Rob Knight at UC San Diego, analyzing microbial signatures across neurodegenerative disorders, and has contributed to global health computational modeling efforts under Professors Ash Patel and Frances Hasso to assess reconstructive surgical needs for patients in Palestine. Song plans to pursue an MD-PhD in biomedical engineering and a career in neuroengineering, integrating biotechnology with computational and bioelectronic technologies to restore neural function.

A computer science and mathematics double major, junior Caroline Zhang conducts research in AI, security, and math. At the Duke Argus Lab, she works with electrical and computer engineering professor Emily Wenger to analyze real-time information retrieval in large language models (LLMs) to study data transparency in LLM web scraping. Zhang also works with computer science professor Brandon Fain on AI alignment, developing a framework that allows LLMs to efficiently follow complex, diverse guidelines in real-world deployments. Outside of Duke, Zhang studies AI for math at Caltech, where she explores open problems in combinatorial group theory. Zhang plans to pursue a Ph.D. and will work to advance AI for mathematical discoveries.

Since its first award in 1989, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation has awarded 11,616 scholarships worth over $70 million. A total of 100 Duke students have won Goldwater scholarships since 1990. 

A complete list of this year’s fellowship winners can be found at https://goldwaterscholarship.gov/.

To receive support in applying for opportunities, such as the Goldwater Scholarship, Duke students and recent alumni should contact the Nationally Competitive Scholarships advisors in the Office of University Scholars and Fellows.