Prestigious national award recognizes emerging leaders in scientific research

Three Harvard College juniors have been named 2026 recipients of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, one of the nation’s most prestigious honors for undergraduates pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. Marking its 40th year, the congressionally established program honors the legacy of Senator Barry Goldwater by identifying and supporting students with exceptional potential to advance scientific research and innovation in fields critical to the nation’s future.

Shriya Bhat ’27, of Texas and a student from Quincy House, is concentrating in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a secondary in Microbial Sciences. A Herchel Smith Summer Undergraduate Research Fellow, Bhat conducts research in the Broad Institute lab of Roby Bhattacharyya, Assistant Professor, Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Medicine, Infectious Diseases Division; Associate Member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; and Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School; and plans to pursue a PhD in Molecular Microbiology, studying early bacterial responses to antibiotics to help predict and prevent drug resistance.

Wyatt Jensen ’27, of Oklahoma and a Leverett House resident, is concentrating in Chemistry with a secondary in Microbial Sciences. A participant in both the FUEL and PRISE summer research programs, Jensen conducts research in the Harvard Medical School lab of Suzanne Walker, Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Harvard Medical School, and aspires to hold a PhD in Chemical Biology, focusing on drug resistance in infectious diseases.

Kasie Leung ’27, of California and a student in Lowell House, is pursuing concentrations in Chemistry and Physics and Computer Science. Also a PRISE research fellow, Leung previously conducted research at Harvard College under the mentorship of Richard Y. Liu, Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Her current research is conducted in the lab of Connor Coley, Associate Professor; Class of 1957 Career Development Professor; Department of Chemical Engineering; Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Schwarzman College of Computing; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and plans to pursue a PhD in Chemistry, applying computational methods to accelerate discovery in synthetic and mechanistic organic chemistry. 

The Goldwater Scholarship supports students who intend to pursue research careers, and all three recipients aim to contribute to academia through research, teaching, and mentorship.