On Mar. 29, Heath Caldwell, from Clancy, was one of four Montana State University undergraduates named as a recipient of a Goldwater Scholarship, a national award from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation that provides $7500 to college students pursuing research careers in the natural sciences.
Caldwell, who studies paleontology at MSU, is joined by classmates Amberly Guerrero, Tyler Delridge, and Amanda Haab as part of a national cohort of 508 Goldwater scholarship winners.
Caldwell works as a research assistant under Dr. David Varricchio, MSU’s interim head of the Department of Earth Sciences.
“A life goal of mine is to be able to conduct research as a paleontologist,” Caldwell said in a release by MSU. “Dr. Varricchio has a reputation for getting undergraduate students involved in paleontological research that is both interesting and publishable.”
Caldwell’s parents, Rodney and Vickie Caldwell, continue to live in Clancy. “He’s been interested in dinosaurs and the natural world since he was a toddler, and never grew out of it,” said Rodney Cladwell. “This passion drove him to read and study everything he could find about paleontology, and to grow stronger academically. The teachers at Clancy school definitely got him started, and supported him.”
Caldwell also volunteers at the Museum of the Rockies, where he helps catalog the fossil collection. He is
also president of MSU’s Dead Lizard Society, which provides students with access to national conferences in the natural sciences and helps them gain experience in conducting literature reviews.
