Princeton juniors Kaivalya Kulkarni and Pranav Mathur named Goldwater Scholars

Kaivalya Kulkarni and Pranav Mathur, both members of the Class of 2026, have been awarded Goldwater Scholarships. This annual award recognizes “outstanding undergraduates interested in pursuing research careers in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics.” The two Princeton juniors are among 441 recipients selected across the United States this year. 

The scholarship program was created as part of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation established by Congress in 1986 in honor of Senator Barry Goldwater. 

Kulkarni, a math major from Okemos, Michigan, plans to pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics. On campus, he served as an undergraduate course assistant for the math department and a Princeton University Mathematics Competition writer. Kulkarni, an avid cellist, is a member of the on-campus chamber music group, Opus, as well as the cello ensemble, La Vie en Cello. He is also a member of the Princeton University Orchestra and was named a winner of the Princeton University Orchestra Concerto Competition in 2024. 

Mathur, from Centerville, Virginia, is an electrical and computer engineering major, with minors in computer science and engineering physics. He plans to pursue a Ph.D. in quantum science and engineering. Mathur is an undergraduate researcher at the Thompson Lab and serves as the president of Princeton Students in Quantum. He is also a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Mathur received a Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the 2023–24 academic year and the Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize in 2023.