Four UC Santa Barbara undergraduates named Goldwater Scholars
Three CCS students, one L&S student receive prestigious national scholarship to pursue discoveries that advance science, healthcare, and society
Three College of Creative Studies (CCS) students and one College of Letters & Science (L&S) student have been named 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholars during the program’s 40th anniversary.
Isaac Kantor ‘27 (CCS Physics), Eirini Schoinas ‘27 (CCS Computing), Mark Zakharyan ‘27 (CCS Physics), and Amelie L'Etoile-Goga ‘27 (L&S Biology) were among 454 college sophomores and juniors selected from a pool of 5,000 students nationwide for the 2026-27 award. The Barry Goldwater Scholarship, established in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater, supports exceptional undergraduate students as they pursue research careers in science, engineering, and mathematics. Recipients of the award often go on to receive subsequent national awards and fellowships.
John Latto, a member of the National Scholarships Faculty Selection Committee and faculty member in CCS and Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, shared his congratulations and insights: “Goldwater is one of the oldest and most prestigious national scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics and CCS students make up over 75% of UCSB's 31 winners in the last 12 years,” noted Latto. “When compared to other UC’s, UCSB has the highest number of Goldwater Awards in this same time period.” In his role on the committee, Latto helps students across campus navigate competitive scholarship and fellowship applications through advising, feedback, and mentorship. Final recipients are independently selected by the Goldwater Foundation.
By design, CCS students have the opportunity to pursue original work including research as undergraduates, often publishing papers and presenting conference talks by their junior year. This helps position them for opportunities like Goldwater.
Meet the 2026-27 UCSB Goldwater Recipients
Isaac Kantor ’27 (CCS Physics) plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics, specializing in quantum information science with aspirations of creating quantum technologies that can be used in real world settings.
In his current research in the UCSB Jayich Lab, Isaac studies how defects in diamond can be used to build tangible, solid quantum-powered gadgets. As he explains: “I engineer tiny defects in diamond to act as quantum sensors that can detect the faintest magnetic signals in nature, down to single atoms.”
For Isaac, being named a Goldwater Scholar reaffirms his decision to pursue what he loves— quantum research. “It is my motivation to keep doing exciting science and pushing toward realizing useful quantum technologies within my lifetime,” he said.
“CCS is my foundation. It is where I found my voice as a physicist and as a researcher. With support from CCS SURF and opportunities like RACA-CON, I’ve developed my skills as a scientist and learned how to communicate my work to broader audiences, which played a pivotal role in the preparation of my Goldwater application.”
—Isaac Kantor ‘27 (CCS Physics)
Amelie L'Etoile-Goga ’27 (L&S Biology) plans to complete a Ph.D. in molecular biology in order to conduct research in cellular evolutionary biology. Amelie also looks forward to teaching and mentoring the next generation of university students.
In her current research, Amelie studies the marine ciliate Mesodinium, a tiny, single-celled creature that has the unique ability to steal chloroplasts from its photosynthetic prey. This metabolic strategy, called kleptoplasty, allows the Mesodinium to survive off of sunlight for periods of time. However, this process only works with certain compatible prey. Amelie works to understand the cellular mechanisms that make this strategy possible, as well as how Mesodinium successfully chooses compatible prey.
“As an undergraduate researcher it is often easy to become convinced that you are out of your depth as you are surrounded by graduate students and professors that have dedicated their life to what you are still learning about,” Amelie reflected. “To me the honor of being named a Goldwater Scholar helped reaffirm to me that I have gained expertise in my research, that the research I am doing is important and that I deserve to be proud of the work I have done. In many ways being named a Goldwater Scholar has given me confidence in my work and my knowledge as a scientist.”
Eirini Schoinas ‘27 (CCS Computing) plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Computer Science, where she will continue her research in brain-computer interfaces and computational neuroscience.
In her current research in the UCSB Bionic Vision Lab, Eirini works to build computer programs that model how the brain will respond when a prosthesis is used to electrically stimulate the brain and what a person implanted with a ‘bionic eye’, or visual prosthesis, will ultimately ‘see’. Additionally, Eirini works on finding optimal stimulation strategies for these prostheses.
On earning this accolade, Eirini said, “Being named a Goldwater Scholar is a meaningful recognition of the work and dedication I have put in over the past few years. I feel incredibly grateful for this opportunity and honored to be recognized in this way.”
“CCS has given me the support to be able to do research. I started research at UCSB my freshman year, which was possible due to the support of my CCS advisors and the program's accelerated curriculum.”
—Eirini Schoinas ‘27 (CCS Computing)
Mark Zakharyan ’27 (CCS Physics) plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Physics while focusing his research on quantum materials and experimental condensed matter physics.
Mark’s current research works toward building low noise sensors to measure the temperature and energy of electrons trapped in atom-thin layers. As he explains, “I am working on a method to directly and locally probe the temperature and chemical potential of 2d electron systems. I have also designed low-noise data acquisition instrumentation for cryogenic condensed matter experiments.”
Work such as his plays a critical role by helping us understand the quantum rules necessary to build real-world technologies.
Mark views the achievement as a positive sign for pursuing a graduate education. “Being named a Goldwater Scholar is a great reward for 2 years of working hard on my research. It's also good external validation that my research will be viewed favorably by Ph.D. admissions committees,” he said.
“I can't think of a place I would rather be than CCS Physics. My advisor is amazing and the CCS classes were intellectually difficult but not stressful. The program has prepared me extremely well for a career in physics.”
—Mark Zakaryan ‘27 (CCS Physics)