Two Students Awarded Goldwater Scholarships
Two students have been awarded 2026–27 Goldwater Scholarships, given annually to sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise as future researchers in science, engineering, and mathematics.
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation selected Noel Schlageter ’26.5, a joint major in biology and earth and climate sciences from Winhall, Vermont, and Frannie Cataldo ’27, a double major in math and computer science from Longmeadow, Massachusetts, as two of 454 scholars nationwide. They were chosen from a pool of more than 5,000 students representing 1,485 colleges and universities.
“The path to winning a Goldwater Scholarship starts at the beginning of a student’s time here with a challenging curriculum, research opportunities, and excellent advising and mentorship,” said Lisa Gates, associate dean for fellowships and research. “Frannie and Noel took advantage of these opportunities and were selected as Goldwater Scholars by showing exceptional promise as STEM researchers. We couldn’t be more proud.”
Students use Goldwater Scholarships to fund up to $7,500 per academic year for undergraduate tuition, fees, books, and room and board while pursuing research-focused careers in STEM.
Cataldo plans to pursue a PhD in computer science and conduct research in network science. He is currently studying optimization and linear algebra for machine learning with computer science professor Frank Swenton and completing a senior thesis as a junior, with plans to coauthor a manuscript for publication in June 2026. He is developing models and analytical tools to better understand complex, real-world systems, with particular interest in how features of social media networks correlate with mental health outcomes and how recommendation algorithms contribute to polarization.
“I’ve known Frannie since his very first semester at Middlebury,” said Phil Chodrow, assistant professor of computer science. “In that time he’s been an impressive student, a driven mentee, and dynamic collaborator. He has excellent intuition for the interplay between mathematics and computation, and he has brought this intuition to our shared work on clustering problems in hypergraphs. It’s been a real pleasure to work with him and I can’t wait to see what he does next.”
Schlageter plans to pursue a PhD in ecology and evolutionary biology with a career goal of guiding conservation strategy through biogeographic research at a conservation organization such as the U.S. Forest Service or Nature Conservancy. He is currently modeling how species’ niches change over time, drawing on coursework in conservation biology and environmental anthropology that examines today’s environmental policy landscape. He credits his experience with American and Chilean conservation agencies with shaping a comparative perspective that will inform his approach to ecological and sociopolitical priorities in future research.
“I am so excited for Noel to be recognized for his research potential,” said Alexis Mychajliw, assistant professor of biology and environmental studies. “He creatively combines knowledge and tools from biology and climate science to present a complete picture of the system he studies. His thesis research represents the first integration of genomic and geologic data to model organism movement across asphalt seeps in California. Noel is also deeply committed to ensuring that his data is accessible to relevant communities and stakeholders.”
In 2026, the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation—named after U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater—celebrates 40 years of supporting college sophomores and juniors, in part through an ongoing partnership with UWorld and the Department of Defense’s National Defense Education Program (NDEP), which has supported 11,616 scholarships.
For more information about the Goldwater Scholarship and other fellowship opportunities, visit the Middlebury Fellowships Office.