Cade Quigley ’23, of Twisp, Washington, is one of two Colorado College students to be named a 2021-22 Goldwater Scholar.
Quigley, a geology major and physics minor, is one of 410 college students from across the United States to be named a Goldwater Scholar. The Goldwater Scholarship is given annually to sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue careers in the natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering. This is the second consecutive year two CC students have received the prestigious scholarship.
Quigley’s research at Colorado College included studying the mechanics of early-stage Continental rifting and historical recessions of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which was supported by the Jackson Fellowship through the Hulbert Center of Southwest Studies, the Buster Grant through CCs Geology Department, and the NSF Ici-Hot project. He joins CC’s Abby Roat ’22 as a 2021-22 Goldwater Scholar.
“I am interested in researching deformation processes in the upper crust and teaching at a university level to young geoscientists,” says Quigley, who plans to pursue graduate school after CC and hopes to obtain a Ph.D. in geoscience or geophysics. “I am extremely honored to be named a Goldwater Scholar among some of the brightest minds in the sciences. I am more excited and motivated than ever to commit time and energy toward geologic research and sharing these discoveries with those it directly affects,” he says.
Quigley credits Riley Scholar and Visiting Professor of Geology Solomon Seyum with guiding him through the research and application process; and Murphy Brasuel, associate professor of chemistry; Christine Siddoway, professor of geology; Emily Pope, former visiting professor of geology; Savannah Miller, LICSW; and his parents with guiding him through the application process.
From a pool of approximately 5,000 college sophomores and juniors, 1,256 natural science, engineering and mathematics students were nominated by 438 academic institutions to compete for the 2021 Goldwater scholarships. Of students who reported, 198 of the Scholars are men, 207 are women, and virtually all intend to obtain a Ph.D. as their highest degree objective. Fifty-one Scholars are mathematics and computer science majors, 291 are majoring in the natural sciences, and 68 are majoring in engineering.
The 2021 awards brings the number of scholarships awarded since 1989 by the Goldwater Foundation to 9,457.