Two Moorhead Students Named 2026 Goldwater Scholars
Minnesota State Moorhead students, Taytum Nelson, Audubon, and Gabriel Grant, Fargo, N.D., were among 454 college students from across the country selected to receive the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation Award.
The highly competitive U.S. scholarship is for undergraduate sophomores and juniors pursuing research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, or engineering. It provides up to $7,500 per full academic year to foster excellence in STEM research.
“What really sets Taytum and Gabe apart is their early involvement in the life of our department, and their commitment to the highest standards of achievement,” said Minnesota State Moorhead physics Professor Ananda Shastri. “They worked with several faculty mentors in research, teaching, and outreach, which helped prepare them to compete at the national level. Their success shows that MSUM students can compete anywhere they choose.”
From an estimated pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, 1,485 students majoring in science, engineering, and mathematics were nominated by 482 academic institutions to compete for the 2026 Goldwater Scholarships. Of the awardees, 54 Scholars plan to pursue research careers in mathematics and computer science, 237 in the sciences, 98 in medicine, and 65 in engineering and materials research.
Taytum Nelson
Nelson, a graduate of Lake Park Audubon High School, is in her third year at Moorhead studying physics, mathematics and computer science. She began her undergraduate research experience in Moorhead’s materials science laboratory under the mentorship of Professor Ananda Shastri.
Her research experience for undergraduates (REUs) includes SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif., where she conducted geospatial studies, specifically mapping the ionosphere. She also attended the University of Arizona’s Optical Sciences Winter School and Workshop and presented at the APS Global Physics Summit, where she discovered her passion for optics. That prompted another REU at the University of Rochester’s Institute of Optics working in the High-Intensity Femtosecond Laser Laboratory, noting, “This experience completely immersed me in the astonishing world of ultrafast optics and solidified my desire to commit to this niche in optics.”
Nelson is currently broadening her knowledge of optics and has presented her research at both national and field-specific conferences. She plans to pursue a Ph.D. in applied physics to conduct optics research relevant to fusion at a national laboratory. Her parents are Barry and Jamie Nelson.
Read more about Nelson and some of her research in the story, “Dragon maps the Ionosphere.”
Gabriel Grant
Grant, a graduate of Fargo’s Davies High School, is a junior physics and astronomy major whose freshman year research project focused on testing the accuracy of built-in barometers on smartphones with Moorhead Professor Ananda Shastri. Barometers measure air pressure, which is used to calculate a phone’s GPS location more accurately. Using this functionality, they explored the physics of soap bubbles. This research was published in Physics Teacher in April 2025.
Moorhead Professor Emeritus Matthew Craig mentored Grant on a second research project, during which they developed a tool to predict visible eclipses of binary stars. Grant says he “developed a Python program that could predict when I could see these eclipses from our observing location at the Paul P. Feder Observatory at the Regional Science Center east of Moorhead.” He presented the findings at the American Association of Variable Star Observers conference in 2024.
His third research project was with Professor Alan Weinstein and Postdoctoral Research Associate Jane Glanzer, both at the California Institute of Technology and the LIGO Lab. Their research project used data analysis techniques to examine the binary neutron star inspiral range, the metric used to measure the LIGO detector’s sensitivity. This work, titled “Investigations of Binary Neutron Star Range Oscillations at LIGO Livingston, was also published and presented.
Grant says being able to conduct research at MSUM since his early days has given him the skills and experience to succeed not only in the Goldwater Scholarship competition, but also in landing competitive research internships at places like Caltech. “I am grateful for the strong support that Moorhead’s physics department has given me throughout my journey.”
Grant plans to pursue a Ph.D. in astrophysics with the goal of conducting research on gravitational wave astronomy and cosmology.
Read more about Grant and some of his research in the story, “The sky isn’t the limit for national astronomy research honors.”
Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation proudly celebrates 40 years of working to support talented college sophomores and juniors who aspire to become this nation’s next generation of researchers in science, engineering, and mathematics. With the 2026 awards, the Goldwater Foundation will have awarded a total of 11,616 scholarships.
The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed, independent agency established by Public Law 99-661 on November 14, 1986. The scholarship program honoring Senator Barry Goldwater was designed to identify, encourage, and financially support outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics. The Goldwater Scholarship is the preeminent undergraduate award of its type in these fields.