Four UTSA students win prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

APRIL 16, 2025 -For the second consecutive year, four UTSA students have been named Barry Goldwater Scholars, one of the nation's most prestigious honors for undergraduates pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

Biomedical engineering major Jacob Arras, computer engineering major Marco Garza and neuroscience majors Emily Holder and Durga Meenakshi Panneerdoss were among just 441 recipients selected this year from a national pool of 1,350 nominees.

UTSA and Baylor University were the only Texas institutions with four students selected in 2025. Over the past six years, UTSA has had more Goldwater recipients than any other university in the state. Garza and Panneerdoss, both sophomores, were among just 50-60 students nationwide selected in their second year of college, a distinction that highlights their exceptional academic promise and research involvement.

UTSA's growing success in national scholarship competitions reflects the strength of its undergraduate research programs and its broader commitment to experiential learning and student mentorship. Students like Arras, Holder and Panneerdoss gained early and sustained research experience through participation in one or more of the university's federally funded pre-Ph.D. training programs: Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC), Enhancing Science, Technology, EnginEering, and Math Educational Diversity (ESTEEMED), and Academic and Professional Preparation for Excellence (APPEX).