Two Indian American students from the University of Pennsylvania, Shreya Nair and Pranav Sompalle, have been awarded the prestigious 2026 Goldwater Scholarships for their promising research careers in science and engineering.
Shreya Nair and Pranav Sompalle, both third-year undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania, have been honored with the 2026 Goldwater Scholarships. This prestigious award recognizes students who are committed to pursuing research careers in the fields of science, engineering, and mathematics.
Nair and Sompalle are among 454 students selected as Goldwater Scholars from a pool of over 5,000 nominees representing 482 academic institutions across the United States, according to the Barry Goldwater Scholarship & Excellence in Education Foundation.
The Goldwater Scholarship provides recipients with up to $7,500 per year for a maximum of two years of undergraduate study. Since its establishment by Congress in 1986 to honor U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, the University of Pennsylvania has seen 72 of its students receive this esteemed scholarship.
Shreya Nair hails from Allen, Texas, and is majoring in biology while minoring in engineering entrepreneurship. She is also submatriculating for a master’s degree in bioengineering. Nair conducts research in Ben Stagger’s laboratory under the guidance of Minh Than at Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine. Her research focuses on cancer interception using KRAS inhibitors in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Additionally, she collaborates with Michael Andreeff at MD Anderson Cancer Center, studying the combined use of menin inhibitors and c-MYC degraders in KMT2A-rearranged acute myeloid leukemia.
At the University of Pennsylvania, Nair actively contributes to the academic community as a research peer advisor for the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF). She is also a member of the Department of Biology’s student advisory committee and participates in the Venture Lab and Wharton Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Club, where she is in the process of building her startup. Nair aims to further her studies in cancer engineering.
Pranav Sompalle, from Cleveland, Ohio, is majoring in biochemistry and biophysics, with a minor in history. He is also submatriculating for a master’s degree in chemistry through the Vagelos MLS program. Sompalle is passionate about making precision medicine more accessible by developing artificial intelligence tools that can predict new diagnostic insights from low-cost imaging. He is also focused on innovating care delivery methods.
In addition to his academic pursuits, Sompalle serves as the policy and outcomes lead for Penn’s Shelter Health Outreach Program and is the undergraduate coordinator at the University City Hospitality Coalition Free Medical Clinic. He is a U.S. Presidential Scholar and a recipient of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Challenge Award. Sompalle aspires to become a physician-scientist, integrating biomedical engineering and artificial intelligence with community health initiatives.
Both Nair and Sompalle exemplify the innovative spirit and dedication to research that the Goldwater Scholarship seeks to promote, and their achievements reflect the growing impact of Indian American students in the fields of science and engineering.
The information regarding the Goldwater Scholarships and the accomplishments of Nair and Sompalle was reported by The American Bazaar.