Ryan Limbocker, a Kansas University junior from Overland Park, has been awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s premier undergraduate award to honor academically gifted students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Three additional KU juniors were recognized with honorable mentions.

Limbocker is the 56th KU student to be recognized with a Goldwater scholarship. Congress established the program in 1986 in tribute to the retired U.S. senator from Arizona and to ensure a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers. More than 1,100 students were nominated this year, and 283 scholarships were awarded. The one- and two-year scholarships will cover the cost of tuition, fees, books and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Limbocker is a junior majoring in chemistry. The son of Craig and Kathi Limbocker, he graduated from Blue Valley North High School, and has been active in professor Michael Johnson’s research group in the KU department of chemistry. He plans to pursue a doctorate in analytical chemistry and research the fundamental origins of neurodegeneration, focusing on post-chemotherapy cognitive impairment, Huntington’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Schools may nominate a maximum of four students for Goldwater scholarships. KU’s three additional nominees to receive honorable mentions were Ashley Farris, a junior from Wichita majoring in biochemistry; Alex Kong, a junior from Lawrence majoring in chemistry; and Kayla Sale, a junior from Olathe majoring in biology and mathematics.