Alexander (Alex) Dennis ’18 has been named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar for the 2017-18 academic year. He is among 240 undergraduate sophomores and juniors from across the U.S. to receive the Goldwater, the premier national undergraduate award in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.
Last summer, Dennis completed an undergraduate research internship in robotics at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he investigated artificial intelligence for cooperative planning in human-robot teams. Dennis, who intends to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science and a career in artificial intelligence research, is especially interested in the mathematical theory behind computer science.
Majors: Computer Science and Mathematics
Hometown: New Milford, Pa.
High school: Blue Ridge High School
In 2015 and 2016 Dennis received the Benjamin Walworth Arnold Prize Scholarship, given to the member of each Hamilton class with the best academic record.
In summer 2015 he was a summer intern with Hamilton’s Computer Science department where he wrote a compiler for a new dialect of Python geared toward novice programmers.
Dennis is a computer science teaching assistant, a member of the College Choir, the Emerson Literary Society and Hogwarts at Hamilton.
He graduated from Blue Ridge High School in New Milford, Pa., and is the son of Karen Dennis of Hallstead, Pa.
The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,286 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The one- and two-year scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established in 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 Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.
Since its first award in 1989, the Foundation has bestowed 7,921 scholarships worth approximately $63 million.
