Rose-Hulman student William Valentine earned recognition as a Goldwater Scholar, one of the most prestigious national scholarships for undergraduate students interested in pursuing a research career in the natural sciences, engineering, and mathematics. He has received a scholarship from the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation to support his career goals of earning a doctorate degree in computer science.

Valentine is a junior, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer science with minors in mathematics, imaging and cognitive science. His primary research interest is human-robot interaction — specifically, how robots can be made to socially interact and work more effectively with people. He was named a Rose Research Fellow his sophomore year and has published seven conference papers, with the first one during his first year on campus. Valentine’s most recent paper examines personalization approaches in long-term human-robot interaction for older adults living with dementia or cognitive impairment. 

His post-graduation plans are to continue his research on socially assistive robots that support older adults, especially those living with cognitive impairment. At its core, Valentine’s research is designed to help people in often overlooked populations, especially older adults and children with living neurodevelopmental disorders. 

For Valentine, receiving the Goldwater Scholarship is another means to helping him continue his research endeavors and serves as validation for the work he’s doing.

“I love doing research and receiving this scholarship means I get to keep doing what I love,” said Valentine. “Knowing that my work has been vetted and deemed worthwhile from unbiased individuals on a national level is validating.”

Originally from Stamford, CT, Valentine has been fascinated with research since he was young and was driven to solve problems through programming. The problems were research driven, which is when he realized research is something he could do as a career. His childhood experiences visiting grandparents also deeply impacted him and where his future research would lead. 

“When I was a kid, I remember visiting my grandparents and finding out they didn’t recognize me … people I loved and cared about did not know that I existed,” he said. “I couldn’t articulate what I could do about that then, but I can now. That’s why I want to spend my career creating robots that help people like my grandparents, older adults living with cognitive impairments, who deserve to maintain a connection with the people they love.”

Valentine credits Rose for pushing him to be the best student he can be to engage with research more effectively. He feels fortunate to have worked with several professors and is grateful for many stellar mentors. At Rose-Hulman, that includes Michael Wollowski, PhD, professor of computer science and software engineering, and Lixing Song, PhD, associate professor of computer science and software engineering. At Indiana University, Bloomington, where Valentine works as a research intern, he credits David Crandall, PhD, Luddy Professor of Computer Science and Selma Šabanović, PhD, professor of informatics and cognitive science.  

“William’s research accomplishments as an undergraduate are unprecedented,” said Bill Weiner, PhD, department head and associate professor of biology and biomedical engineering. “He has seven conference publications, four of which he first authored, and numerous conference presentations. William is passionate about research involving human-robot interaction and is destined to have a significant impact on this field.” 

Rose-Hulman now has 18 students who have earned the Goldwater distinction since 2004, with several more honorable mention selections as well. Only students who are committed to obtaining a PhD and pursuing research, as well as have an exceptional GPA, are eligible for the Goldwater Scholarship.