Lawrence student Arthur Benson earns prestigious Goldwater Scholarship at KU

Lawrence schools and the University of Kansas just put another national research name on the map. Arthur Benson, a Lawrence resident and Free State High School graduate, was named one of KU’s three 2026 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, a distinction that signals where the local talent pipeline can lead: into high-level undergraduate research, graduate study and, for some students, careers in science and engineering.

Benson was selected with KU classmates Tatum Aikin and Carter Gray from more than 1,000 nominees nationwide. The Goldwater Board awarded 454 scholarships for the 2026-27 academic year, and the award covers eligible expenses for tuition, fees, books and room and board up to $7,500 annually. The Goldwater Foundation said the 2026 competition drew an estimated pool of more than 5,000 sophomores and juniors, with 1,485 nominated by 482 academic institutions, as the program marked its 40th year supporting undergraduates who aim for research careers. Congress established the scholarship in 1986.

For Douglas County families, Benson’s profile is the part that hits closest to home. He is the son of David and Nadya Benson, and at KU he is majoring in chemical engineering with a concentration in data science and a minor in music. He plans to pursue a doctorate in chemical engineering focused on hybrid energy storage systems, a field tied to the energy technologies that could shape industry in Kansas and beyond.

His research record already runs deep. Benson worked on refrigerant flammability testing under KU professor Mark Shiflett, work that led to a publication in Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research and earned him the 2025 Outstanding Presentation Award at the 28th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. He also completed a National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates at the University of California, Irvine, where he studied an induction-heated process for sustainable hydrogen production under Erdem Sasmaz. KU said that project was featured in a manuscript under review by the Journal of CO2 Utilization. Benson has also presented at regional and national American Institute of Chemical Engineers student conferences and is now working on molecular modeling of high-energy-density batteries with KU faculty member Yiling Nan.

Aikin, from Westwood and a Shawnee Mission East High School graduate, plans to pursue a doctorate in immunology. Her research has included Type I diabetes work in the Markiewicz Lab at KU Medical Center and the Orozco Lab at KU. Gray was also named among KU’s three Goldwater winners, underscoring the breadth of the university’s undergraduate research bench.

For Lawrence and Douglas County, Benson’s scholarship reads as more than a line on a résumé. It is evidence that a Free State graduate can move from local classrooms into nationally competitive research, then carry that training into the next stage of science and engineering.