The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, April 13, 2007 Page: 4 of 24
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THE RICE THRESHER NEWS FRIDAY, APRIL 13. 2007
Students awarded prestigious scholarships and travel grants
Rice boasts Fulbright, Rhodes, Marshall scholars, chooses 17 Wagoner Scholars
by Diana Lee
THRESHER STAFF
It's that time of year again: Commence-
ment is nearing, pollen fills the air and hordes
of Rice students are winning scholarships to
travel the globe. This year, more Rice stu-
dents applied for national and international
scholarships than ever before, particularly
for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and
the Morris K. Udall Scholarship.
This year's scholarship class also marks
the first Henry Luce Scholars at Rice in five
years and the first time since 1998 that Rice
has had two Udall Scholarship winners.
Wagoner Scholars
The Wagoner Foreign Study Scholarship
is a Rice-specific award open to undergradu-
ates with at least junior standing, graduate
students and alumni. The intention of the
scholarship is to provide students with
the opportunity to travel and conduct re-
search abroad. Applicants are expected to
present projects and, usually, enroll in a
foreign university.
The award grants each student a maximum
of $15,000 for a summer, a semester or a year
of studying abroad. This year, about $180,000
was awarded.
Seventeen Wagoner Scholars were cho-
sen. Thirteen are undergraduates, two are
graduate students and two are alumni. Their
chosen countries range from Egypt to New
Zealand, and Asia and Europe are the two
most popular continents for travel.
Wiess College senior Douglas Mata, a
biochemistry and cell biology major, won
tlie Wagoner Scholarship for graduate study
in the United Kingdom. His senior thesis is
on RNA viruses and their structures and
replication. He is also performing research
specifically on influenza type A.
History graduate student David Getman
will also travel to the UK. He has been examin-
ing the Annual Reports of the British labour
Party and the Official Journals of the League
of Nations for his preliminary research.
Brown College senior Anne Kemper, an
art history major, will study architecture
in Paris. She works on the College Student
Collaborative at the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston and is writing a senior thesis on
the relationship between Surrealism and
non-Western art.
Sid Richardson College senior Natalie
Kone, an English and French studies major,
will travel to Senegal and France this fall to
study varying topics such as the migrant
literature of women in Paris and west Africa.
She will also focus on Senegalese culture,
including its depiction of gender roles in
literature and its language, Wolof.
Wiess senior Emily Dahl, a violin perfor-
mance major, wasgranted the Wagoner Schol-
arship to study Baroque violin in Europe. She
has played in several concerts inside and
outside of school, including Bach's B Minor
Mass and Christmas Oratorio. She has also
performed Handel's Flavio.
Sid junior Andy Miller, a bioengineering
major, will study in Barcelona, Spain. His
project involves industrial design, particularly
the construction and improvement of medical
devices. He will work with the usability of
products, including their social acceptability
and marketability. Previously, he spent a year
researching orthopedics.
Sid senior Julie Liao, a biochemistry and
Asian studies major, will study in China for
one year, focusing on rural education and
methods to help underprivileged children
and teachers. Liao entered Rice as a Century
Scholar and has conducted research since
her freshman year. She has been the second
author of two research papers.
Sid senior Aaron Reese, a political science
major, will study Arabic at the American Uni-
versity in Cairo, Egypt for a year. He plans to
later pursue a Ph.D. in Middle Eastern stud-
ies. Currently, he is conducting research on
radical Islam and radical sheikhs, including
Nasser al-Fahd and Salman al-Awdah.
Brown College senior Ulyana Horodyskyj,
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an earth science and geochemistry major, is
currently on a research vessel in Antarctica.
She was the first author of an article that ap-
peared in the Summer 2006 edition of Earth
and Planetary Science Letters. Her research
deals with geochemistry and petrology, focus-
ing on how the continents were formed.
The remaining Wagoner recipients were
unavailable for comment. They include Wiess
senior Kristin Bresnahan, graduate student
Smita Das, Will Rice College senior Jimmy
Jessup, Wiess senior Maureen Johnson,
alumnus Jo Kent (Baker '06), alumnus Jason
Lee (Wiess '06), Martel College senior Deepa
Panchang and English graduate student
Amelia Scholtz.
The Wagoner Scholarship was made pos-
sible through the donation of the late JamesT.
Wagoner in honor of his parents and his wife.
National Awards
The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship
and Excellence in Education Program aids
college sophomore and junior students in
their pursuit of careers in the natural sci-
ences, mathematics or engineering fields.
The program was created in 1986 in honor
of Barry M. Goldwater, who served in the
U.S. Senate for 30 years. Rice selects from
nominations four top candidates, which it in
turn nominates for the award. Up to 250 people
are awarded nationally, with awards going up
to $7,500 annually for 1-2 years.
This year, there are two Gold water winners
at Rice: Hanszen College sophomore Emily
Fortuna, a computer science major, and Sid
sophomore Steve Xu, a bioengineering major.
Martel junior Scott Mclsaac, a physics and
astronomy major, received an Honorable
Mention.
Xu is a 2009 Rice-Baylor Scholar who per-
formed research on miniaturizing collagen
static tension tissue molds last fall. IK- will
conduct research on reproducing traumatic
brain injury on various nerve cell types this
summer.
Mclsaac was a part of the Killian re-
search group that dealt with the Fabry-Perot
interferometer. He also helped research
the reaction-diffusion model on a lattice
at Bucknell University. His work was pre-
sented at the March meeting of the American
Physical Society.
The Harry Truman Scholarship is for
college juniors who plan to attend either a
graduate or a professional school in order
to enter a career in the public sector. The
scholarship, valued at $30,000, essentially
covers three years, including one year of
undergraduate experience and two or more
years in graduate school. Rice can nominate
four students for this scholarship. There arc
no restrictions in area of study, although ap-
plicants are expected to enter public service.
One scholarship per state is given out for a
total of 50 awards.
All four of the people nominated for the
Truman Scholarship became finalists and
received interviews. They were Sid junior
Apoorva Shah, Sid junior Kirti Datla, Wiess
junior Christina Lagos and Wiess junior Tito
Escobar.
The Morris K. Udall Scholarship is open
to college juniors and seniors interested in
studying the environment, as well as Native
Americans and Alaskan Natives interested in
Native health care or tribal policies. Eighty
awards of up to $5,000 each are granted each
year to undergraduates. The scholarship is
for one year of study. Rice can nominate up to
six individuals each year with no restriction
in field of study as long as the coursework
is related in some way to ethics, the environ-
ment and public policy
Rice has two Udall Scholars this year.
They are Wiess sophomore Jeremy Caves,
an Earth Science major, and Ix>vett College
junior Niki VonHedemann, an Ecology and
Evolutionary Biology major.
Caves also recently received the Ernest
F. Hollings Scholarship from the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Hollings Scholarship increases training
and research in oceanic and atmospheric
sciences while preparing undergraduates
to enter careers in public service with the
NOAAorto become educators in these fields.
Caves is involved in the Environmental Club
and helped organize its annual conference in
March. His research has included studying
the environmental influences of the species
distribution at Hermann Park.
Jones College junior Hrishikesh Hari,
a political science major, was accepted as
a fellow at the Center for the Study of the
Presidency. The organization examines
governmental institutions, particularly that
of the presidency. His duties as a fellow
include writing a paper about the impact
of the president signing statements on
the doctrine of the separation of powers.
Hari is also a member of the debate team.
International Awards
The Marshall Scholarship, a post-graduate
award, enables individuals under 26 to study
for 2-3 years at any British university, includ-
ing Oxford or Cambridge. It covers tuition
and fees at the foreign university and allows
for a living stipend. Forty to 45 scholarships
are awarded per year nationally.
The Rhodes Scholarship is another award
extending over 2-3 years. It is different from
the Marshall Scholarship in that applicants
may only study at the University of Oxford
if selected.
The scholarship pays for the tuition and
most other fees incurred at Oxford. The funds
can also be used for travel to and from Oxford
and certain research purposes. Thirty-two
are awarded nationally.
Lovett senior Brandi Braud, a Rice-Baylor
Scholar and English major, is a finalist for
both the Marshall and Rhodes Scholarship.
She intended to study the cultural implica-
tions of the treatment of hypoplastic left heart
syndrome at Oxford University, tying in with
her research at Texas Children's. She has
co-authored five papers.
The Fulbright Program aims to increase
global communication and strengthen ties he
tween the United States and other countries.
Graduate students and graduating seniors
are able to apply. The scholarship covers one
year of studying or researching in a foreign
country. The award can either be a'full grant'
by which tuition, books, transportation, etc,
are covered, or it can be a 'fixed sum grant'
by which individuals are paid a fixed fee in
U.S. dollars. The type of award depends on
whether there is a Fulbright Foundation in
that particular country. About 630 awards
are given out nationally each year.
Two Rice Fulbright Scholars have been
announced, but it is possible that more will be
announced in June. Sid senior Brian Mathes,
a political science and Asian studies major,
will study in China. 1 Iispanic studies graduate
student Andrea Holman declined the grant
but was offered a Fulbright English Teaching
Assistantship in Uruguay.
The Ambassadorial Scholarship is the
Rotary Club's oldest program and is awarded
to hundreds of students per year. The goal
of the scholarship is to educate Americans
about other countries and vice versa.
Lagos, an International Health Science
Policy major, was named as both a Truman
finalist and a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar.
She will study in Argentina next year. Her
extracurricular activities have included do-
ing research through the Baker Institute
Leadership Center and being a Global Fund
projects research intern.
The Luce Scholars Program is awarded to
18 individuals under the age of 30 nationally
every year. The recipients will study, live,
and work in east or southeast Asia for a year:
it is not necessary for them to have prior
experience with Asia as the program also
includes intensive language study. The goal
of the program is to bring an understanding
of Asian culture and lifestyle to the attention
of a wide population.
The two Luce Scholars at Rice Uni-
versity are Wiess senior James Rapore, a
political science and managerial studies
major, and earth science graduate student
Mark Little.
Rapore is currently working on cre-
ating a solar light company that will
distribute its technology to developing
nations. He also served as the president
of Ideas to Action, a Rice club involved in
entrepreneur organization.
The Watson Scholarship, unlike most
other scholarships, has no set academic
requirement and grades are the primary
tool for selection. Students do not necessar-
ily have to study at a foreign university, but
are encouraged to do their own independent
investigations into whatever subject matter
interests them. The award is valued at $25,000
and extends for one year. There are 50 awards
given out nationally.
Bresnahan is the winner of the Watson
Scholarship. She is majoring in political sci-
ence. Her project examines how legal systems
are shaped by cultural perceptions of justice
in various countries such as Peru, Australia,
and Singapore. She has worked before in a
criminal defense law firm.
7
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Bursten, Julia. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, April 13, 2007, newspaper, April 13, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443077/m1/4/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.