WEST POINT CADETS NAMED BARRY SCHOLARS

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Canterbury Institute recently announced that Cadets Gregory Langone and Michele Szegda, Class of 2023, earned Barry Scholarships.  

Michele Szegda is a nuclear engineering major with a life science concentration from Old Tappan, N.J. She is a member of the Women’s Army Rugby team and a member of the Officers’ Christian Fellowship. Szegda was inspired by her parents’ battle with cancer and her service as an enlisted medic in the U.S. Army. Her passion for learning is expressed through her academic interests of cellular biology, chemistry, and nuclear engineering. Szegda has pursued multiple research projects in investigating metallic nanoparticles’ interaction with gamma radiation, in developing the pyrotechnic ignitor for the Space Engineering and Research Hypersonic Rocket (SPEAR), and in examining the ethical implications of utilizing nanotechnology for human enhancement. She will pursue a MSc in Medical Physics with Radiobiology at Oxford University as a Barry Scholar.  

“I’m so grateful and honored to be awarded the Barry scholarship to pursue my dreams of furthering the field of Radiation Biology and Medical Physics at Oxford,” said Szegda. “It truly is an amazing opportunity to expand my world view and build connections through fellowship with brilliant, diverse, and creative minds. This scholarship’s pursuit of truth and foundational values is everything I strive for and hope to be. I am so excited to make the most of this opportunity!” 

Gregory Langone is a civil engineering major with a minor in applied statistics from Clifton Park, N.Y. He is a member of the West Point Cross Country and Track and Field teams and a brigade honor committee representative. Langone has researched statistical tools to quantify uncertainty in material models, and he presented his work to professionals from army research laboratories. He was published in conference proceedings by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in 2021 and ASME Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification Symposium in 2022. During the summer of 2022, Langone wrote papers on emerging sustainable construction materials to inform senior leaders while working for the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment in the Pentagon. 

“Through the Barry Scholarship, I reaffirm my commitment to pursuing truth to deliver informed infrastructure solutions for the Army and the world,” said Langone. “I am grateful for the opportunity to represent the Army and further enrich my education.” 

The Barry Scholarship is an academic prize awarded in recognition of a student’s dedication to academic vocation and the pursuit of truth. It provides full funding for a minimum of two years of graduate study at the University of Oxford. The Barry Scholarship is awarded by academics themselves through a dedicated network of nominators at leading academic institutions in Britain and the United States of America and, as a prize, cannot be applied for. Generously supported by the John and Daria Barry Foundation, the Barry Scholarship is an initiative of the Canterbury Institute, an Oxford-based charity that seeks rediscovery of the academic vocation. Further information on the Barry Scholarship can be found on its website: www.barryscholarship.org. 

About West Point 

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point is a four-year, co-educational, federal, liberal arts college located 50 miles north of New York City. It was founded in 1802 as America’s first college of engineering and continues today as the world’s premier leader-development institution, consistently ranked among top colleges in the country. Its mission remains constant—to educate, train, and inspire the Corps of Cadets so that each graduate is a commissioned leader of character committed to the values of Duty, Honor, Country and prepared for a career of professional excellence and service to the nation as an officer in the U. S. Army. For more information, go to www.westpoint.edu.