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Andrew Pace Wins Goldwater Scholarship

The $15,000 award, given annually to students intending to pursue careers in math, science, engineering, and computer disciplines, will be divided between Pace’s junior and senior years.

Pace, of Fort Lewis, Wash., is among 300 Goldwater Scholarship winners from across the United States. He was selected from a field of nearly 1,100 applicants. The award will help cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Pace is the 20th Occidental student to win a Goldwater Scholarship in the last decade.

 “I am extremely honored and thankful that I was awarded the Barry Goldwater Scholarship,” said Pace, who is researching chiral drugs - medicines whose properties, called enantiomers, can interact in surprising ways with the human body.

Prozac, for example, is made up of enantiomers that, in addition to treating depression, can be a potent anti-migraine medication. Separating the properties could potentially boost potency and reduce drug costs, Pace said. “Hence, safer and more effective drugs could become available to a greater number of people across the globe,” he added.

Pace’s goal is to become a pediatric emergency physician or a pharmaceutical researcher.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation is a federally endowed agency honoring the late Arizona senator. In its 15-year history, the foundation has awarded close to 4,000 scholarships worth about $39 million.