PASADENA, Calif.- The Rhodes Trust has announced that Todd Gingrich, a California Institute of Technology senior chemistry major, has been named a Rhodes Scholar. The scholarship covers all expenses at Oxford University in England, where he plans to earn a master's degree in theoretical chemistry.
"Obviously this is extremely exciting," said Gingrich, who has been a student government leader and solar energy researcher during his undergraduate years at Caltech.
"Todd undoubtedly has the potential to become an outstanding research chemist and professor," said Lauren Stolper, director of fellowships advising and study abroad at Caltech. "Todd is an able leader whose hallmark is his concern for his peers and his genuine appreciation of the opportunities and education that he has had access to at Caltech." Gingrich will take classes and may conduct research while at Oxford. Later he plans to earn a PhD in the U.S. or at Oxford. "Ultimately, I'm optimistic that I can become a professor and teach. I've had quite a few role models in that area, and I would like to follow in their footsteps," he said.
One of those role models was Dr. George Smith, a biology professor at the University of Missouri in Gingrich's hometown of Columbia. In fact, during the summer between his junior and senior years in high school, Gingrich decided he would like to get a summer job, and Smith offered him his first step down the scientific career path.
"I figured washing petri dishes would be better than flipping burgers, so I was looking at people I knew who could provide a job like that, and he was the father of someone in my Boy Scout troop. I asked him if the University of Missouri ever considers hiring high-school students over the summer, and he said, 'I'll take you.'"
Later Smith provided Gingrich with the next step on his career path when he discussed schools Gingrich was visiting and considering for college. "He said, 'Why aren't you considering Caltech?' He had visited a friend at Caltech for a couple months and was blown away by its size and the opportunities there."
At Caltech, Gingrich first worked in chemistry professor Harry Gray's lab investigating a protein implicated in Parkinson's disease. More recently, his research with chemistry professor Nate Lewis has involved studying the types of solar power that can revolutionize the energy industry.
Gingrich hopes to understand the science that could one day allow for the development of inexpensive solar fuel cells. These would use metal oxides instead of silicon. The metal oxides will convert the sunlight into storable energy during the day by breaking the bonds of water to yield hydrogen gas. The hydrogen could then be used to generate electrical energy at the user's convenience regardless of whether it was still daylight. He said his goal at Oxford will be to step away from the direct application and learn about the theory behind the work. "In my mind it's going toward the same goal. It will be learning techniques which can be applied one day," he said.
Gingrich is one of 32 American students out of 85 scholars worldwide who will attend Oxford University next fall as Rhodes Scholars, working on their bachelor's, master's, or doctoral degrees.
Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and best-known award for international study. They were created in the 1902 will of Cecil Rhodes, the British philanthropist and African colonial pioneer.
Written by Jacqueline Scahill