An April to remember

From two national scholarships to eclipse experiments, Demmi Ramos made LR history in April.

By nearly any measure available, April has been a monumental month for mathematics major Demmi Ramos ’25 – winning both a Goldwater Scholarship for research and a scholarship from the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA), conducting a high-altitude balloon launch during a solar eclipse, delivering a prize-winning presentation to the North Carolina Academy of Science (NCAS), and receiving an invitation to present at the Integrating Research in Science (IRIS) conference at Wake Forest University.

Many of these honors were based on the research Ramos completed in the summer of 2023 with the Mathematics Climate Research Network, located at Wake Forest University. The program was funded by the American Institute of Mathematics and supervised by Wake Forest mathematics professor John Gemmer, Ph.D.

“My research looked at the climate system of the Earth and the rate of change of temperature. I was looking at how long it would take for the earth to go from completely ocean to completely ice,” Ramos explained. “So, I was looking at the amount of greenhouse gasses and the strength of atmospheric noise which represents naturally occurring fluctuations in weather. I put all that data together in a simulation to figure out the tipping point from an all water to all ice equilibrium.”

They presented this research at the 2024 NCAS meeting on April 5-6th and won the first-place award for the presentation in the chemistry category. Given the multidisciplinary nature of the work, Ramos explained this was the category NCAS deemed most appropriate. In addition, the research, along with Gemmer’s endorsement, earned an invitation to the student-organized IRIS conference.

Most notably, this research made Ramos the first Lenoir-Rhyne student to receive the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, established by Congress in 1986 to honor the long-serving Senator from Arizona. According to the Goldwater Foundation, the scholarship’s goal is to “identify and support college sophomores and juniors who show exceptional promise of becoming this nation’s next generation of natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering research leaders.”

Funding from the Goldwater Scholarship covers educational expenses – including tuition, fees, housing, and books – up to $7500 per year during a recipient’s junior and senior years of undergraduate study. Expanded funding in 2024 allowed the Goldwater Foundation to award 438 scholarships to support students nationwide in 2024-25.

Dan Grimm, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology, serves as the Goldwater campus representative at LR, supervising students through the application process. 

“I am personally proud to be associated with the quality of all the students who have applied for the Goldwater Scholarship,” he commented. “I was not surprised by this outcome because Demmi’s application submission was exceptional.”

Ramos described cycling through periods of confidence and doubt through the application process, but perseverance prevailed. 

“It still doesn’t feel real,” they shared. “When I first started the application, I felt really good, but then I debated not applying. When I submitted it, I didn’t really love my application, but at the same time, I did. When I read the acceptance letter, I was shaking.”

In addition to the financial support, the Goldwater Scholarship offers recipients networking and mentorship opportunities. “I’m in a group chat with all the winners now,” said Ramos.

More good news arrived from the National Association of Campus Activities, which awarded Ramos the South Student Leadership Scholarship for their contributions to campus culture. For Ramos, this includes serving as vice president of both the First-Generation Students Association and the Honors Academy as well as president of the Campus Activities Board (CAB). 

“I first learned about it when I went to the NACA conference in New York in October,” Ramos shared. “In the application, you talk about what you’ve done as a leader on campus and what you’ve gained from it. It’s nice to be recognized for the effort I’ve put into campus life.”  

One of those efforts included helping plan and execute an expanded Student Life Awards ceremony themed “A Night to Remember” on April 22nd. Ramos was nominated for an individual award and won alongside fellow members of the Ballooning, Engineering and Rocketry (BEAR) Team for Student Club/Organization of the Year. 

As the BEAR Team balloon lead, Ramos, along with teammates, embarked on a 13-hour drive to Arkansas to witness the April 8th solar eclipse in the zone of totality – on the heels of their presentation at the NCAS meeting. 

“It was a whirlwind,” said Ramos. “But also, a lot of fun and really rewarding.”