Northeastern students recognized for excellence in STEM research as Goldwater Scholars - Northeastern University College of Science

Luke Bagdonas is a chemistry major who researches salt marshes as a nature-based solution to climate change.

Kaitlyn Ramesh is a bioengineering major who develops computational tools and examines genomics data.

Both are third-year students at Northeastern University and recipients of prestigious Goldwater Scholarships.

Goldwater Scholarships recognize ambition and excellence in undergraduate STEM research. Bagdonas and Ramesh were selected from among approximately 5,000 applicants from across the country.

Even though he’s a chemistry major, Bagdonas knew early on that he wanted to focus his studies and research on the environment.

“There are not many environmental science people who like chemistry,” he says. “And there are not many chemists who like environmental science, so I like being right in the middle — where I can take chemistry knowledge and apply it to environmental science or microbiology or ecology and thread that needle to better understand how our planet’s working so that we can better understand how to fix it.”