Two SCS Students Awarded Goldwater Scholarships

Sheng Shu, a junior majoring in computer science and also studying chemistry in the Mellon College of Science, and Hyojae Park, a sophomore computer science major, are two of Carnegie Mellon University's three Goldwater Scholarship recipients this year.

One of the most prestigious undergraduate scholarships in the STEM fields, the Goldwater Scholarship is awarded by the federally endowed Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. It provides up to $7,500 per academic year to support costs such as tuition, fees, books, and room and board.

Sheng Shu

Shu's fascination with chemistry is rooted in curiosity about the fundamental aspects of the natural world. Over time, that interest grew to include computer science, which offered new tools for examining chemical systems.

"My research journey began here at CMU, where I was drawn in by the sheer number of undergraduate research opportunities and the supportive culture around them," Shu said.

He first worked in Associate Professor of Chemistry Isaac Garcia-Bosch's lab, conducting wet-lab chemical research before pivoting to computational chemistry — a rapidly evolving field that blends scientific discovery with the scale and precision of computer science. Since then, he's performed research with Fang Bai, an assistant professor at ShanghaiTech University, and currently works in the lab of Olexandr Isayev, the Carl and Amy Jones Professor in Interdisciplinary Science in CMU's Chemistry Department.

One of Shu's personal milestones in the lab has been a defining moment in his education so far: building and testing a model that could generate de novo molecules — molecules designed and generated from scratch. "It was the first bridge I built myself between the two fields," he said.

His current research focuses on molecular representation. Specifically, developing a model that encodes molecules into a fixed number of values, despite the near-infinite complexity of molecular features. This work could improve machine learning applications in chemistry, such as predicting molecular properties and behaviors.

"I hope scientists from all fields can use the research I conduct to accelerate their work," Shu said.

In addition to research, Shu contributes to the CMU community as a teaching assistant for 15-122: Principles of Imperative Computation and enjoys participating in hackathons with friends. After graduation, he plans to pursue a Ph.D. and continue working at the intersection of chemistry and computer science.

Reflecting on the scholarship, Shu said he's most excited to connect with other scholars and expand his understanding of new research directions. "The Goldwater was an accumulation of everything I've worked on so far," he said. "It's exciting to see what's possible."

Hyojae Park

Park traces his interest in computer science to third grade, when his elementary school hosted an Hour of Code event. He picked up a Java textbook afterward and started teaching himself.

Years later, that same curiosity guided his decision to attend CMU.

"I knew I wouldn't be limited here," he said. "The university offers depth in coursework and breadth in research opportunities. I can explore topics as deeply and widely as I want."

One formative experience came in high school, when Park built a functional ray tracer — a program that simulates light to render images. "I was fascinated that equations on paper could turn into something visual and interactive," he said.

Now, his research focuses on robotics. He's exploring methods for enabling rapid data generation of robotic hand movements from a single datapoint.

"I hope that my research will enable new formalizations and theoretical foundations to see how we can think about different problems in new ways, enabling us to develop creative solutions to difficult problems," Park said.

Park earned the Goldwater Scholarship for research spanning multiple disciplines — cryptography, graphics, robotics, human-computer interaction and software engineering — with six publications and presentations at major conferences already on his résumé. The award comes with financial support and access to a national network of scholars. But for Park, it's a signal that he's on the right track.

"I think having work across different subfields helped my application stand out," Park said. "It shows that I really love the research process, not just a specific area."

Outside the lab, Park has served as a teaching assistant for 15-122 three times. Sharing core concepts with hundreds of students has been one of his most rewarding experiences at CMU.

Though he's still early in his academic career, Park plans to pursue graduate study in computer science and continue conducting research. His advice to others interested in a similar path?

"Stay curious. Find important problems. Ask for help when you need it. Start early."