Third-year student Nick Wu has earned adistinguished undergraduate hypersonics research scholarshipto pursue his interest in applied mathematics at the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science. The hypersonics research scholarship program is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense Joint Hypersonics Transition Office and the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Wu is majoring in engineering science with a minor in computer science; he's also fulfilling the requirements for second major in math. “Computers and math are a big part of my life,†Wu said. Wu, who is from Leesburg, Virginia, taught himself chemistry during his senior year of high school. Through this self-directed learning, Wu discovered that he liked describing things in the language of a physical scientist. As a first-year undergraduate at UVA, Wu became intrigued by materials science. He metPrasanna Balachandran, assistant professor of materials science and engineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering, at an event hosted by the Department of Materials Science and Engineering to interest students in majoring in engineering science. Wu and Balachandran talked about the intersection of materials science and computer science and the limitations of silicon-based technology. “To keep scaling up, we need to develop new materials for computing,†Wu said. “That's a really cool topic.â€