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Â鶹ŮÀÉ honors student Kyle Loh has been awarded the 2026 Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the most prestigious national research fellowship for undergraduate students.

Loh was selected from an estimated pool of over 5,000 college sophomores and juniors who were nominated by 482 academic institutions to compete for the 2026 Goldwater Scholarships. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation’s commitment to supporting talented students who aspire to become the nation’s next generation of researchers in science, engineering and mathematics.

The dual-enrolled junior at Â鶹ŮÀÉ High School and third-year Â鶹ŮÀÉ student is pursuing a joint B.S.-M.S. degree in applied mathematics. His research interests lie in dynamical systems and information theory, and under the supervision of Jason Mireles-James, Ph.D., in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Loh aims to improve our understanding of modern computational tools through mathematics.

Q: What is the specific focus of your research in the College of Science? Why did you choose to study this area?

A: My research explores the theoretical foundations of machine learning algorithms from a mathematical perspective. Currently, I use dynamical systems theory to rigorously prove the existence of complex behaviors in popular optimizers like RMSProp and Adam. I chose this area because it leverages my background in pure mathematics, computer science and electrical engineering, and I enjoy the challenge of working at the frontier of an underdeveloped field.

Q: During your time at Â鶹ŮÀÉ, did you receive any other scholarships? And how have these resources helped you achieve your academic goals?

A: I received Â鶹ŮÀÉ’s OURI Research Grant for Spring 2026 to study dynamical systems under Dr. Jason Mireles-James, and a Mu Alpha Theta Summer Grant to study number theory at Texas State University for Summer 2024. These grants funded travel, textbooks and computational hardware, allowing me to focus more on my mathematical research.

Q: What type of clubs or student organizations are you involved with?

A: I am a member of Â鶹ŮÀÉ’s Dynamical Systems research group led by Drs. Mireles-James and Vincent Naudot. We meet weekly to discuss research topics and share insights.

Q: What accomplishments as a student are you most proud of?

A: I published a preprint on scientific machine learning with Emory University’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Site on Computational Mathematics and Data Science last summer. I also presented this research to a broad audience of mathematicians at the Joint Mathematics Meetings conference in Washington, D.C.

Q: What career or academic pursuits are you interested in after you graduate?

A: After graduation, I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in applied mathematics and continue my research at the intersection of scientific machine learning and dynamical systems.

Q: How do you hope to make a transformative change in your future career?

A: Leveraging my applied mathematics background, I aim to become a principal investigator in academia or a leading research scientist at an industry lab. In either of these roles, I hope to make an impact by developing mathematically tractable artificial intelligence architectures for real-world applications.

Loh anticipates that he will graduate with his bachelor’s degree in mathematics in December 2026. In May 2027, he is expected to concurrently receive his high school diploma from Â鶹ŮÀÉ High School and his master’s degree in applied mathematics from Â鶹ŮÀÉ.