Peterfreund, a triple major in molecular biology and biochemistry, chemistry and society in society, is currently researching how a particular enzyme in E. coli grabs onto and pushes unfolded proteins across its inner membrane. "Long term, this project will improve and hopefully help resolve the working mechanism of this family of translocation complexes, which serves a vital function for many kinds of bacteria, including E. coli," says Peterfreund.

"I am both honored and thrilled to receive this award, since the Goldwater Foundation recognized my academic work and my research project as both fascinating and valuable, and their belief that I will be able to continue to contribute science throughout my career," says Peterfreund.

DiSciacca, a double major in physics and mathematics, is currently working on producing the first semi classical study of fundamental molecules using an experimental technique called recurrence spectroscopy. "The ultimate goal of this work is to generate a physical intuition that can be used to predict the structure and dynamics of other molecular systems," says DiSciacca. "Specifically, we can start from the ground up and explain characteristics of particular molecules."

Earning a Goldwater Scholarship was an honor and pleasant surprise for DiSciacca. "I am very fortunate to have met and worked with professors and grad students at Wesleyan." he says. "They have taken their time to help me along the way and I have learned a remarkable amount from them."

The Goldwater Scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,081 mathematics, science, and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on November 14, 1986. The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the premier undergraduate award of its type in these fields.

In its 18-year history, the Foundation has awarded 4,885 scholarships worth approximately forty-eight million dollars. The Trustees plan to award about three hundred scholarships for the 2007-2008 academic year.

For more information, please contact Laura Perillo at 860-685-3813 or lperillo@wesleyan.edu