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�ձ�av��Ƶ math and physics double major Mason Pulse of Salem has become only the 12th �ձ�av��Ƶ student to be selected as a Goldwater Scholar.

This is the 40th year in which the Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation has presented awards to support talented college sophomores and juniors who aspire to become this nation’s next generation of researchers in science, engineering and mathematics. 

There are 454 awards being presented for 2026-27. The students were selected from a field of 1,485 students nominated by 482 schools.

Pulse becomes the first �ձ�av��Ƶ recipient since Timothy Paris in 2020.

Greg Heiberger, dean of the �ձ�av��Ƶ Honors College, said he nominated Pulse because of his unwavering dedication to scientific discovery and innovation at the highest levels.

The award carries with it a $7,500 scholarship, but the award’s prestige is greater than its financial boost. Heiberger said, “The Goldwater Scholars represent the most accomplished young researchers in the country. While the finances will support Mason in accomplishing his academic pursuits, this selection recognizes Mason as one of the nation’s best and brightest undergraduates in the sciences.”

Goldwater: Applying was major effort

It also marks another accomplishment for the 2023 McCook Central High School salutatorian. Pulse estimates he “spent well over 100 hours preparing” his Goldwater application. That includes time reaching out to Paris and 2018 �ձ�av��Ƶ Goldwater selection Jace Waybright, with whom Heiberger has maintained contact.

They were able to provide him some application suggestions and felt like Pulse’s selection odds were favorable.

But Goldwater doesn’t name semifinalists or interview nominees. One never truly knows where they stand. But they do know that the announcement is made at 11 a.m. March 27. Pulse was in the University Student Union at that time with his fiancée Juliana Wagner. “I was very nervous,” he said.

When the words in his email read “You’ve been accepted,” Pulse said, “I was just really happy. I probably caused a disturbance.”

Disturbance excused. Heiberger said, “After years of hard work in the classroom and the laboratory, Mason, Dr. Kharel and the whole team who supported him in his pursuit of undergraduate research excellence have reason to celebrate.”

Involved in research early in college career

Pulse’s credentials certainly are Goldwater worthy — a 4.0 GPA at �ձ�av��Ƶ, dean’s list throughout college, Fishback Honors College student, co-authoring multiple research publications and giving presentations at area symposiums as well as at the American Physical Society meeting in March 2025.

The Goldwater application also required Pulse to write a research essay, which Pulse did on magnesium cobalt germanium.

He has been involved in undergraduate research since the second semester of his freshman year. “I knew from the beginning I wanted to be involved in research,” so he talked to professor Parashu Kharel, who was teaching his freshman seminar class for physics. He invited Pulse to come on board in the spring semester.

A life-shaping vacation

While physics is difficult to understand, it may be even more difficult to understand why Pulse, given his background, wanted to research the magnetic properties of elements from a physics perspective.

He grew up on an eastern South Dakota acreage with a dad who owns an electrical business and a mother who works in the Register of Deeds office. He wrestled, ran track and participated in FFA. All pretty standard activities. But Pulse can pinpoint what set him on his current path.

“When I was 12 years old, my family took a trip to the Black Hills. We toured the Sanford Underground Research Facility. I was astonished at the advanced research taking place in South Dakota. It got me really interested in physics. At that point I decided I wanted to study particle physics. I would go on YouTube and watch physics videos.”

His first semester in Kharel’s lab was spent learning safety and research procedures.

In summer 2024, Pulse was doing meaningful research for Kharel, who has been studying magnetic materials for 20 years. Now, Pulse operates more independently. His goal is to make magnetic refrigeration a viable alternative the vapor compression systems used in residential and commercial refrigerators today.

The process has been used in scientific cooling technologies where research needs to be conducted in extreme cold. It also is starting to make a foothold in European grocery stores.

Pulse’s goal is to create an alloy that would have a strong magnetocaloric effect at room temperature. 

The science behind magnetic refrigeration

He explains that a magnetocaloric effect occurs when the magnetization and demagnetization of a material cause it to heat up or cool down. The cycle starts with the application of a magnetic field to the material, causing the magnetic moments to align, which, in turn, reduces entropy, the measure of disorder within an element.

This causes the material to heat up. The excess heat is removed via a heat sink, such as a circulating fluid. When the magnetic field is removed, the magnetic moments become unaligned and return to their previous state. This increases entropy which causes the material to absorb heat, producing a cooling effect on the environment, which can be used to refrigerate spaces.

Pulse said that two reasons for using magnetic refrigeration are reducing the amount of hydrofluorocarbons released into the atmosphere through traditional vapor compression systems and operating with greater efficiency. He said vapor compression systems operate at 20% of theoretical maximum efficiency. Magnetic refrigeration can operate at 30 to 60% efficiency.

Those matters are accepted science. Current research focuses on finding the best alloy to do the job.

Current status of research

Pulse and Kharel are focusing on alloys produced from manganese, cobalt and germanium for magnetic cooling. Pulse explained, “We’ve reached Step 2. We synthesized the material and doped it with a bunch of different elements. We found a material that has a room temperature transition. Next step is to slightly alter the chemical composition to increase the change in entropy, the backbone of magnetic cooling affect.

“There have been lots of studies on this material, but we are trying to tune it to reach a higher level of performance."

Pulse’s work is somewhat akin to tweaking a recipe.

For the alloy formed from manganese, cobalt and geranium, he has added copper, carbon and iron. “Copper was not successful. Carbon really helped us to get to room temperature transition. Iron did a great job in increasing the change in entropy. Based on the chemical formula, we calculate how much we need to add,” he explained.

Short-term plans: A year in Brookings, two in Billings

For the last two summers, Pulse has worked in Kharel’s lab on projects supported by federal funds. Thanks to a Gales Fellowship from the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, he will be back for a third year.

Kharel is happy to have him. “Mason works independently and is close to completing his current project for publication. He is highly motivated and has the experimental skills necessary to tackle new and challenging research projects.”

Pulse will have one year to utilize his Goldwater scholarship. He will graduate in May 2027 and then will head to Billings, Montana. That’s where his fiancée is from. They will be married this summer, and she has a two-year nursing commitment there following her May 2027 graduation.

Pulse hopes to work as a material engineer during his Billings stay and then pursue condensed matter physics in graduate school. He foresees a career researching magnets.

While research can be a lonely pursuit, Pulse said he wasn’t alone in during the Goldwater pursuit.

“I want to thank Dr. Heiberger and Dr. Kharel for helping me with this application as well as friends and family and my fiancée. I also want to thank God for giving me the intelligence and an opportunity to pursue this scholarship.”