Luke Holtzman has received a prestigious 2018 Goldwater Scholarship.
GENESEO, N.YK. - Junior chemistry and physics double major Luke Holtzman has been named a 2018 Goldwater Scholar in a national competition recognizing promising juniors and sophomores from the United States who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.
Holtzman joins 210 other recipients of the prestigious and highly sought after scholarships sponsored by the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. The winning students were selected on academic merit from a field of 1,280 students nominated by institutional representatives from 2,000 colleges and universities nationwide. The award covers the cost of tuition, fees, books, room and board to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
Holtzman is from New Rochelle, N.Y., and becomes the 21st Geneseo student to be recognized since the scholarship’s inception in 1989. The College also has had seven Honorable Mention awards over the years. Geneseo’s first award winner was Rebecca Sherman in 1991 for physics, and Holtzman’s award is the fourth in the past three years for Geneseo (Lara Finnerty-Haggerty 2017, Jeffrey Doser 2017, and Hannah Loo 2016). For 2018, Geneseo joins SUNY Binghamton and SUNY Stony Brook as the only dedicated SUNY institutions to have Goldwater Scholars, each with one.
Besides excelling in chemistry and physics, Holtzman is an All-American student-athlete, who participates in varsity intercollegiate cross country and track and field. Earlier this semester, he joined juniors Zachery Hannahoe, Gillan Faulkner and senior Isaac Garcia-Cassani in winning a national championship in the men's distance medley relay at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track & Field Championships, hosted at the Birmingham (Ala.) Crossplex.
In his application for the Goldwater, Holtzman explained his interest in research involving materials both for improving the reliability of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) and the maximum energy efficiency of commercial solar cells.
“Recently, there has been increased interest in the use of spinel nanoparticles as battery electrodes and of perovskite nanoparticles in solar cells because of promising electrochemical and optical characteristics,” he said. “My research concentrates on the synthesis of these materials.”
During the summer of 2017, Holtzman interned with Distinguished Professor Esther Takeuchi, Distinguished Teaching Professor Kenneth Takeuchi, and Dr. Amy Marschilok at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University doing research described as focusing on “synthesizing the spinel, magnetite (Fe3O4), by electrodeposition onto copper current collectors. This electrode preparation procedure uses pure magnetite as the electrode instead of a mixture with adhesives.”
Holtzman was funded by the Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship (SULI) program, which encourages undergraduate students to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers by providing research experiences at Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories. Marschilok, who is a research associate professor in materials science and chemical engineering and a research professor in chemistry at Stony Brook University, praised Holtzman’s abilities.
“Within ten weeks, Luke progressed to a level of independence in terms of his capability to set up his experiments, analyze, and interpret his data beyond what I have seen of many (ultimately successful) first semester Ph.D. students.”
Currently at Geneseo, Holtzman is working with assistant professor of chemistry Rabeka Alam on energy storage research focusing on synthesizing cesium lead halide perovskite nanoparticles and studying their optical, electronic, and physical properties.
“The most rewarding part about working with Mr. Holtzman has been his ability to learn something very quickly, then build on that knowledge independently,” said Alam. “His strong background in chemistry and physics has been an asset when interpreting scientific data. His willingness to not give up when research does not work and figure out what he can do differently proves that he has bright future in science.”
Eric Helms, Geneseo associate professor of chemistry, pointed out Holtzman’s “attention to detail and ability to go beyond what is expected, which is crucial for undergraduates interested in research careers. The ability to communicate one’s work is integral to advancing science as well as receiving funding to continue doing the research. Luke will excel at anything he puts his mind to. He has a personality that meshes well with others and he has shown me that he has the ability to work well in a group or as an individual.”
After graduation, Holtzman is planning to obtain a Ph.D. in physical chemistry or materials science and then start a career in research at either a university or national lab, such as Argonne or Brookhaven National Laboratory.
“A career researching thermodynamics and energy technology would allow me to join scientists in this field looking into the safety issues current energy storage devices may experience,” said Holtzman. “In addition, many modern energy processes produce vast amounts of waste, adding to the world’s carbon emissions. These issues intrigue me both intellectually and ethically, as does the research that will offer solutions.”