By Marc Reyes
ATLANTA — When the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation selected its latest Goldwater Scholars, it named two Honors College students — Avvai Chandrasekaran and Nneka Otuonye — as recipients of the award. This is the first time Georgia State's Atlanta Campus has had two Goldwater Scholars in one year.
Chandrasekaran and Otuonye are among the 441 new Goldwater Scholars for 2025, and were selected from among more than 1,300 applications from nearly 500 U.S. academic institutions. The award is one of the highest honors an undergraduate student majoring in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and mathematics can receive. Goldwater Scholars regularly go on to win other prominent national awards and admission to competitive graduate programs.
Avvai Chandrasekaran
A fourth-year computer science and philosophy double major with a concentration in data science, Chandrasekaran has been guided by the principle that AI systems need to be designed with deep connections to human values and conceptions of morality. As an emerging “computational philosopher,” she has conducted research at GSU’s Collaborative Human-AI Center (CHAI). At CHAI, she serves as the lead of Project Pepper, where she is designing and implementing a system that enables a humanoid robot, Pepper, to interpret its surroundings and hold human-like, context-aware conversations using AI-powered services.
In addition to her work at GSU, Chandrasekaran has worked as a research intern at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in Maryland and participated in the University of California, Irvine’s Logic and Philosophy of Science Summer Development Program. This spring she began work on her Honors thesis, “Developing Domain Specific Large Language Models,” under the supervision of GSU Professor of Computer Science Raj Sunderraman. After Chandrasekaran’s graduation from GSU in spring 2026, she intends to pursue a doctorate in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
Upon hearing word of her Goldwater Scholarship, Chandrasekaran said she was “elated and incredibly grateful.”
“I realized that the application process itself had helped me refine my research goals and fuel my commitment to achieving them,” she said, adding she is “thankful for her mentors and GSU’s Goldwater Committee for their rigorous guidance and support.”
Nneka Otuonye
Otuonye, a fourth-year biology major with an anthropology minor, intends to pursue both a medical degree and a Ph.D. Since her first year at GSU, Otuonye has conducted research through the National Institutes of Health's T34 Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) program. Under the mentorship of GSU Assistant Professor of Neuroscience Jessica Bolton, Otuonye has learned what it means to be a scientist, contribute to a lab and conduct independent research. She is currently investigating how microglial mechanisms influence neural circuitry in the context of early-life adversity.
In summer 2024, in addition to her research at GSU, Otuonye was selected to join the Vanderbilt University Medical Scientist Training Program's Summer Research Program. Through this experience, she gained invaluable insights into the responsibilities and daily life of an M.D./Ph.D. candidate. As a future physician-scientist, she intends to conduct neuroscientific research to develop novel therapeutics in precision medicine. This past summer, she conducted research at Yale University through the Leadership Alliance, a national consortium of research opportunities for future leaders in science and academia.
To Otuonye, winning the Goldwater Scholarship is “the opportunity of a lifetime and a testament to perseverance.” With this award, Otuonye said she hopes to “inspire other students to engage in research and pursue interdisciplinary degrees, as exemplified by my academic journey.”
GSU’s Goldwater Campus Committee is led by Gigi Ray (Chemistry) and includes Ashwin Ashok (Computer Science), Florian Enescu (Mathematics and Statistics), Chris Goode (Neuroscience and Psychology), Jonathan Blaylock Sylvester (Biology), Victoria Mariani (Chemistry) and Desiree Wanders (Nutrition).
The application for the Goldwater Scholarship has reopened and GSU is looking for its next applicants. GSU’s Goldwater applicants work on their applications over the fall and spring semesters. Applicants find out about their award status in late March. Interested students are encouraged to reach out to Marc Reyes for more information and support with their application.
Click here to learn more about how Georgia State's Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships can support students seeking study abroad, research, leadership and graduate studies awards.
About the Honors College:
The Honors College at Georgia State University is a destination for high-achieving students who embody curiosity, take pride in their work and dream about how they can make an impact through their studies and careers. Its mission is to serve students in a welcoming space by engaging students’ curiosity, empowering them to achieve their highest potential and inspiring them to find their place in the world. Its students form life-long friendships, participate in community service, perform research, excel academically, explore their interests and chart their career paths.