Henry Dieckhaus of Eureka, Mo., a Boston College junior majoring in chemistry, has received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the nation’s premier undergraduate award in the sciences.
Henry Dieckhaus
The scholarships are presented on the basis of academic merit to the country’s most promising students in math, science, and engineering, according to the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.
“I am very honored to be named a Goldwater scholar, and I am grateful for the support and confidence that the Goldwater Foundation has expressed in my future as a scientist,” said Dieckhaus.
At Boston College, Dieckhaus received the American Chemical Society Division of Analytical Chemistry Undergraduate Award in Analytical Chemistry and is a Dean’s Scholar in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. The Chemistry Department has honored him with the Brian Lawrence Gray Prize for scholarship and named him a Sophomore Scholar. He is current studying abroad at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.
“Since Henry was a natural in the laboratory, combined with his performance as the overall top student in our Honors Chemistry Program, this award is a wonderful, but well-deserved recognition for him. He has a bright future in research.”
Dieckhaus has conducted research with Boston College Chemistry Department Professor and Chairman Marc Snapper and Professor Frederik Haeffner, as well as with Professor Shih-Yuan Liu. Last summer, he worked with Dr. Cong Liu at Argonne National Laboratory in Chicago.
“Professor Haeffner and I had the pleasure of working with Henry on a shared research project last semester,” said Snapper. “Even though our time together was cut short by his plans for a semester abroad, it was remarkable how much progress he was able to make on this project. In each of our weekly meetings, his accomplishments and clear thought process for achieving the next goal in the project were evident and impressive.
"Since Henry was a natural in the laboratory, combined with his performance as the overall top student in our Honors Chemistry Program, this award is a wonderful, but well-deserved recognition for him," added Snapper. "He has a bright future in research.”
“I have always been fascinated by the problem solving that all science necessitates, but as I have gained exposure to the world of modern research, I have been further compelled by other components of science. The collaboration, communication, and education involved in research have all been quite exciting to participate in and contribute toward.””
Dieckhaus’ research focuses on computational chemistry, which uses computer simulations to help solve problems that were previously too complex or impractical to attempt using traditional "wet" chemistry methods in a laboratory. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in the field.
“My research is focused on narrowing the gap between computational chemistry and ‘wet’ chemistry, so that challenges such as drug design or catalyst development can be solved in a more interdisciplinary way,” he said.
Dieckhaus, who looks forward to connecting with his fellow Goldwater Scholars in the next two years, said his interest in the sciences has been driven by a desire to find ways to answer tough questions and solve problems.
“I have always been fascinated by the problem solving that all science necessitates, but as I have gained exposure to the world of modern research, I have been further compelled by other components of science," he said. "The collaboration, communication, and education involved in research have all been quite exciting to participate in and contribute toward.”
Ed Hayward | University Communications | May 2019