KU junior wins Goldwater scholarship; political science professor receives Fulbright award

photo by: University of Kansas

Kate Wienke

A University of Kansas student and a professor have recently been announced as recipients of major academic awards.

Kate Wienke, a St. Louis junior in physics, has been named a Barry M. Goldwater scholar, and Robert Rohrschneider, a professor of political science, has received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award.

Wienke becomes KU’s 77th undergraduate to receive the prestigious Goldwater scholarship since they were first awarded in 1989. The award recognizes achievements in the science, technology, engineering and math fields. Wienke is studying to become an astrophysicist. Last year she was one of just 36 students from across the country invited to participate in the Future of Physics program at the California Institute of Technology. Additionally, she has conducted significant research as part of KU’s ExoLab, which is a leader in the study of exoplanets. Exoplanets are planets outside of our solar system.

Rohrschneider, as part of his Fulbright award, will spend four months in Austria to research European political parties that advocate for limiting the rights of political minorities, stifling the free press and placing new limits on constitutional courts.

The political parties, known as illiberal parties, are the subject of a book that Rohrschneider is writing that focuses on how such political parties are gaining momentum in Europe. While in Austria, Rohrschneider also will serve as a lecturer at the University of Vienna, and he hopes to strengthen ties between KU and that leading European university, he said in a KU press release.

photo by: University of Kansas

Robert Rohrschneider

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