Rhodes College sophomore Ada Collins is among the 441 students from across the United States who have been selected as Goldwater Scholars for the 2025-2026 academic year.
Established by Congress in 1986 to honor Barry M. Goldwater, a five-term U.S. senator, the Goldwater Foundation provides scholarships to support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming the nation’s next generation of natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering research leaders. Students cannot apply for the scholarship, but rather must be nominated by their institutions. Since 1997, Rhodes has had 22 Goldwater Scholars, including Collins.
“As a Goldwater Scholar, I plan to conduct research within high-energy physics to explore beyond the standard model and understand fundamental universal interactions,” said Collins. “Beyond answering what our universe is and how it came to be, high-energy physics has applications in computing, medical technology, and, my favorite, renewable energy.”
A physics and mathematics major from Greensboro, NC, Collins came to Rhodes on The Jack H. Taylor Scholarship in Physics, which provides tuition assistance and an opportunity to work in the physics department on research or other projects. During her first year, she worked with Dr. Shubho Banerjee in the theoretical physics lab, generating proofs to tackle complex mathematical problems.
“I would like to thank Dr. Banerjee for introducing me to research and Dr. Greg Vieira and Dr. Brent Hoffmeister for encouraging me to take every opportunity at Rhodes and beyond,” said Collins. “The Rhodes physics department, student and faculty alike, have offered me nothing but support, and I am incredibly grateful for all that they do.”
Collins serves on the executive boards of student organizations including the Society of Physics Students, AfterMath, and the Rhodes Caracal Society, which was formed in 2024 to promote the value of Rhodes’ signature Search program. In 2024, she received the Fred W. Neal Prize, which celebrates excellence in first-year Search courses.
“We are proud and delighted that Ada Collins has received the Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious undergraduate scholarship award that one can receive in the natural sciences. Her work with our professors in physics speaks to the outstanding quality of undergraduate research that happens in our labs every day at Rhodes,” said Dr. Timothy S. Huebner, provost and vice president for academic affairs.
Outside of Rhodes, Collins has worked as an intern for Fermilab, which is a particle physics and accelerator laboratory, and has served as a physics teaching assistant for the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics. This summer, she will conduct nuclear physics research at Vanderbilt University.
Collins’ career goals include earning a Ph.D. in particle physics and teaching and conducting research at the university level.