Nicholas Patrick, a junior majoring in computer science, is one of three Duke students selected for Goldwater Scholarships in science, mathematics and engineering for the 2008-09 academic year.

Patrick's specific interests are in structural biology and bioinformatics. With his mentor Bruce Donald, the William and Sue Gross Professor of Computer Science and Biochemistry, Patrick is devising and refining computational methods for nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of protein structure.

"These experiments have applications to biological research and structure-based drug design," Patrick said.

He plans to pursue a doctoral degree in computational biology and to become either a university researcher or a scientist in a biotechnology company.

Patrick was among 321 sophomores and juniors chosen on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,035 students nationwide. The award provides up to $7,500 toward annual tuition and expenses.

The scholarship program honoring the late U.S. Sen. Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering.

See Duke News article.