High Point, NC - High Point University student Sadie Flagg, a junior chemistry major from Richmond, Virginia, was named a 2023 Goldwater Scholar by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation.

One of the most prestigious awards available for an undergraduate science major, the Goldwater Scholarship is given to exceptional sophomores and juniors who plan to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. The Foundation seeks to identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of leaders in STEM fields. The selection criteria include a strong commitment to a research career in the natural sciences, mathematics, engineering, effective display of intellectual intensity in the sciences, mathematics and engineering and potential for significant future contribution to research in their field. 

This year, 1,267 students applied from more than 425 institutions. Flagg was one of 413 named as a Goldwater Scholar. She said she is extremely honored to have been selected.

“I feel that this award shows me the value of my contributions to research and science both currently and in the future,” said Flagg. “I am very appreciative of being picked from a pool of students that I know are talented and hardworking. It also makes me especially thankful for the many faculty who have invested a great deal of time and energy into seeing me succeed.”

Flagg is mentored by Professor Brian Augustine, interim dean of the Wanek School of Natural Sciences, and plans to pursue a Ph.D. in materials science after graduation at HPU. Her long-term goals are to work in developing new materials for renewable energy sources. Flagg’s research in Augustine’s lab at HPU has been using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize nano/microporous polymer thin films and develop a methodology to understand the mechanism of nanoporous material formations. High porosity materials can potentially be applied in biomedical devices, catalytic materials and energy storage/battery technologies.

In addition to the Goldwater Scholarship, Flagg was awarded a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-REU) position at the University of California at Santa Barbara and will work during the summer in its top-ranked Materials Science program. Flagg is a member of the HPU Honors Scholar program, has participated for two years in the HPU Summer Research Program in the Sciences (SuRPS), has presented her work at two National American Chemical Society meetings, and is currently working on a manuscript of her work as the lead author due at the end of April.

Flagg joins other HPU students who have previously been awarded a Goldwater Scholarship. Thomas Boudreaux (‘19), a physics major, was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship in 2017 for his astrophysics research with Dr. Brad Barlow, an associate professor of astrophysics. Mikaela Seemann (‘21), a biochemistry major, was awarded a Goldwater Scholarship in 2020 for her work with Dr. Meghan Blackledge, an associate professor of chemistry, on combatting antibiotic resistance MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).