UNM student Louis Metzger named Goldwater Scholar

March 27, 2003

UNM student Louis Metzger named Goldwater Scholar

University of New Mexico Regent’s Scholar Louis Metzger, a junior majoring in biochemistry, has been named a 2003 recipient of the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, announced UNM President F. Chris Garcia.

The scholarship will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

He is among 300 students selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,093 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

“We at UNM are proud of Louis Metzger for being selected a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship recipient,” said UNM President F. Chris Garcia. “The award is the premier undergraduate award of its type and Metzger is another example of the top-notch students we have at UNM.”

Metzger, son of Janet and Louis E. Metzger III and a graduate of Cibola High School in Albuquerque, plans to pursue a Ph.D. in biochemistry following graduation from UNM in May 2004.

“I would like to investigate methods of computationally modeling enzyme-ligand interactions in order to intervene at a molecular level in various disease processes (such as cancer metastasis),” he said. “I intend to make basic biomedical/pharmaceutical research the focus of my career. Regardless of the specific career pathway I choose, I will spend at least some time teaching. The perpetuation of any academic community is dependent upon established professionals teaching and mentoring subsequent generations of scientists.”

He said being a recipient of the Goldwater Scholarship is an exciting personal milestone. “More importantly, it is a testament to the fine education, research opportunities and mentorship experiences afforded to me throughout my life,” he said. “My parents, schoolteachers and UNM professors have been instrumental in helping me reach my academic potential. This award reflects their dedication, friendship and generosity. It also demonstrates the quality of undergraduate research opportunities available at UNM.”

Metzger thanks his mentor, David Vanderjagt, Ph.D., professor in the UNM Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and “the superb faculty with whom I have had the pleasure of interacting,” he said. He also thanks the UNM Regents for providing him with the Regents Scholarship that has catalyzed his academic success. “I hope that receipt of the Goldwater Scholarship will help convince aspiring researchers to choose UNM as their alma mater,” he said.

Metzger is the co-founder and current chairman of the UNM Undergraduate Biomedical Research Association (UBRA). He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 2002 and he served on the 2003 Phi Beta Kappa Selection Committee. He is the student representative to the Faculty Senate Curricula Committee and current member of the UNM Committee for Undergraduate Research (CUGR).

He is a participant in the National Science Foundation R.E.U. program, 2001, participant in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology’s Pathways to Research Careers, a breast cancer summer research and training program, 2002.

One hundred sixty-one of the scholars are men, 139 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their degree objective. Thirty-one scholars are mathematics majors, 210 are science majors, 45 are majoring in engineering, 12 are computer science related majors. Many of the scholars have dual majors in a variety of mathematics, science, engineering and computer disciplines.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on Nov. 14, 1986. The scholarship program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. The Goldwater Foundation, in its 15 year history, has awarded 3,962 scholarships worth approximately $39 million.

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