Seth Hatchett, a rising senior triple-major at the University of Tennessee at Martin from Huntingdon, was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship in its 2025 cohort.
Hatchett is the seventh UT Martin student to earn the prestigious scholarship or its honorable mention status. He is majoring in electrical engineering, cell and molecular biology, and general chemistry and minoring in neuroscience. He plans to graduate in spring 2027.
“I think that all of those fields will have some relation to what I want to do (as a career) and provide me with different skill sets that will be useful,” Hatchett said.
The scholarship – one of the most prestigious national undergraduate scholarships in the natural sciences, engineering and mathematics –is awarded annually to about 400 college sophomores and juniors out of about 1,200 nominees.
Hatchett said he would like to pursue a medical degree and Ph.D. program, which would enable him to become a physician scientist.
“That means that I would divide my time between practicing medicine and conducting scientific research,” he said. “My ultimate goal is to become the principal investigator of a research laboratory, where I would be responsible for managing a group of graduate students and post-doctoral researchers as well as undergraduate researchers.
“Specifically, what I’m interested in doing is treating patients who have suffered neurological damage due to traumatic brain injury or stroke while conducting research in that field.”
Hatchett has published three papers with Dr. Saman Sargolzaei, associate professor of engineering. The most recent paper related to developing the university’s first neural imaging assisted-driving simulator, which studies brain activity while driving vehicles.
Hatchett said when he was younger, he was interested in science. It was his junior year in high school when his thoughts of studying neurological medicine began.
“My grandfather was hospitalized for quite some time,” he said. “He had some form of dementia, and as a result, he was in the hospital for the entire summer between my junior and senior year of high school.
“He returned home my senior year, and I was responsible for providing a lot of his care full-time that year. That experience made me realize that there is a lot of room for improvement in how medical care is performed.”
Hatchett is a University Scholar and is the first UTM student since 2001 to earn the Goldwater Scholarship. He is the son of Richard Hatchett and Ginger Hatchett of Huntingdon, both UTM alumni. Richard graduated from UT Martin in 1994 with a degree in chemistry, and Ginger graduated in 2003 with a master’s degree in education.
Hatchett is conducting a study with Dr. James Smart, professor of biology, to determine the cause of a neurological disorder in snakes. He is also working on a study with Dr. Ann Gathers, associate professor of biological sciences, that is focused on brain activity associated with selective attention.
“The additional enrichment that I have gained through being a member of the University Scholars program has been crucial to my academic success,” Hatchett said.
The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 in honor of former United States Senator and 1964 presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Its goal is to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and intend to pursue careers in these fields.
The scholarship is awarded based on merit, and the actual amount given is based on financial need, up to a maximum of $7,500 per academic year.
PHOTO: Seth Hatchett of Huntingdon, a rising senior triple-major at UT Martin, was awarded the Goldwater Scholarship in its 2025 cohort. He is majoring in electrical engineering, cell and molecular biology and general chemistry. He plans to graduate in spring 2027. Hatchett is shown sitting outside of the Latimer-Smith Engineering and Science Building on the UT Martin campus.
