W&L’s Aiden Gray ’27 Awarded Goldwater Scholarship Gray’s funded research will focus on autonomous oceanographic systems and materials science.

By Emily Innes Stanley
April 14, 2026

Washington and Lee University junior Aiden Gray ’27 has been awarded a highly competitive Goldwater Scholarship to support a research career in science, mathematics and engineering. At W&L, Gray is an engineering and earth and environmental geoscience double major. He is a native of Richmond Hill, Georgia, and graduated from Richmond Hill High School.

The Goldwater Scholarship is one of the oldest and most prestigious science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) scholarships in the country and aims to support undergraduate sophomores and juniors who show promise of becoming research leaders in their respective fields and intend to pursue a doctorate. Universities can only submit four nominees’ applications, and each selected scholar is awarded $7,500 to support undergraduate research in their junior or senior year.

Gray views the scholarship as a steppingstone to his career as a researcher and will use the funds to continue his work studying autonomous oceanographic systems and materials science. He is grateful for the support he has received from his research mentors, including Mengying Liu, assistant professor of engineering at W&L; Catherine Edwards, associate professor of coastal physical oceanography and marine robotics at the University of Georgia’s Skidaway Institute of Oceanography; and Elizabeth Clark, research scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL).

“Being awarded this scholarship validates the hard work, late nights and crazy schedules that have delivered me to where I am today,” said Gray, who plans to pursue his doctorate in ocean science and engineering and teach at the university level. “It reinforces my conviction to pursue a career in research and encourages me to apply for other nationally competitive fellowships and positions.”

Gray pursued research opportunities at W&L that have helped him navigate the ins and outs of scientific research, from funding to execution to publication. In the summer of 2025, he joined Liu on a fellowship to conduct research at LBNL, and he credits this experience with opening “countless opportunities for [his] future.”

At LBNL, Liu and Gray collaborated with researchers from across the country to conduct in situ X-ray computed tomography experiments to investigate internal crack formation in hydrogen-embrittled alloy 725. Liu was impressed by Gray’s focus and composure, particularly when the initial setup did not go as expected, and how he engaged in solution-oriented discussions with her and the research team. Gray continued working with Liu after they returned from LBNL, and his research contributed to the talk she delivered at the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society 2026 annual meeting, where Gray also presented his work individually. Liu and Gray are planning to draft and submit their research to a peer reviewed journal in the fall.

“Aiden is a self-motivated student, and his research interests are driven by genuine curiosity,” Liu said. “He has great potential in doing research, as he has the ability to translate understanding into decisive action, even under pressure.”

At W&L, Gray is a member of the varsity swim team, the Outing Club, Phi Beta Kappa and Sigma Gamma Epsilon honor societies and Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He is the first-year residential experience coordinator and a resident adviser for the Office of Residence Life as well as an incoming peer tutoring coordinator for the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning.

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