Blair Rossetti ‘09, a biochemistry major from Plymouth, Mass., has been named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar for 2008. Awarded to outstanding college juniors and seniors in the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering, the Goldwater Scholarship is the premier national award for undergraduates in these areas.

April 7, 2008

Blair Rossetti '09, a biochemistry major from Plymouth, Mass., has been named a Barry M. Goldwater Scholar for 2008. Awarded to outstanding college sophomores and juniors in the fields of mathematics, science, and engineering, the Goldwater Scholarship is the premier national award for undergraduates in these areas.

Designed to encourage talented students to pursue careers in the sciences, the program awards one- or two-year scholarships of $7,500 toward undergraduate study. Rossetti is one of 321 students nationwide to win the award this year.

A Wheaton Trustee Scholar, Rossetti has been consistently named one of the Dean's Top Ten Students in his class. He has been selected as a Presidential Scholar for maintaining at least a 3.8 grade point average every semester, and in the fall of 2007 he received a Commendation for Excellence in Perl Programming.

Rossetti has been involved in cutting-edge research projects at Wheaton. He is Wheaton's lead student researcher in the national Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Consortium and was a co-author on papers about the project that appeared in the journals Science and Developmental Biology.

With Associate Professor of Biology Robert L. Morris, Rossetti presented a poster at the 2006 meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology. The poster presented preliminary data on the Wheaton researchers' discovery of 500 novel ciliary genes.

In his application to the scholarship program, Rossetti said the presentation drew positive feedback from scientists at the meeting. "I knew that my work would contribute to the ever-growing body of scientific knowledge," he wrote. "The idea that the ciliary research that I completed in a small lab at Wheaton could someday help cure a person suffering from polycystic kidney disease or any number of ciliary disorders has given meaning to pursuing a career in science."

Rossetti plans to pursue doctoral studies in biology and hopes to teach cell and developmental biology at the university level while furthering his research activities. He noted that his Wheaton education has given him unique opportunities to develop as a scientist.

"My liberal arts undergraduate education, coupled with my research experiences, has allowed me to approach scientific questions in innovative ways," he wrote. Taking courses outside of his major has allowed him to analyze his research in a manner that is not restricted to biochemistry, he added.

At Wheaton, Rossetti is assistant dean's intern of Academic Advising and a preceptor. He has also been a member of the Cross Country team and a coordinator for the Sophomore Halftime program.

The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Barry M. Goldwater of Arizona, who served in the U.S. Senate for 30 years. Virtually all Goldwater Scholars plan to pursue doctoral studies, and many have gone on to win Rhodes Scholarships or Marshall awards. Wheaton student Ashlan Musante '08 won a Goldwater Scholarship last year.