Students receive awards, scholarships

F ive graduate students and four undergraduate students have recently been selected to receive awards and scholarships.

The doctoral students have been selected to receive the Edward Peck Curtis Award for Excellence in Teaching by a Graduate Student. The award, established in 1984, recognizes graduate students who assist in undergraduate teaching and have had significant interaction in the classroom or in the laboratory.

President Thomas Jackson, Provost Charles Phelps, and Dean of Graduate Studies Bruce Jacobs will present the awards at a luncheon on Monday, May 3. The award recipients are Seth Bordenstein, Department of Biology; Matthew Coppenbarger, Department of Mathematics; Kari Kraus, Department of English; and Scott Murphy and Ian Quinn, both from the Department of Music Theory at the Eastman School.

Jacobs selected the winners based on nominations from departments or undergraduate student groups. Each student will receive a $500 award with an additional $250 to their departments for improvements in materials for undergraduates.

The undergraduates have been awarded prestigious scholarships based on academic merit. Aaron Master '99 has been selected to receive a Churchill Scholarship. He will receive a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the College and a bachelor of music in applied music (saxophone) from the Eastman School. The Churchill Scholarship, which amounts to $27,000, is designed to provide a year of graduate study in engineering, mathematics, or the physical and natural sciences in England.

Jeremy Schott '99 has been selected to receive a Mellon Fellowship in Humanistic Studies. Schott is a double major in religious studies and English. The Mellon Fellowship--a one-year award of $14,500, plus tuition and mandatory fees--is devised to encourage promising students to pursue doctorates in humanistic fields.

Lastly, two undergraduates have been selected to receive Goldwater Scholarships. Matthew Polizzotto '00 is majoring in environmental science and music; Candace Gildner '01 is majoring in biomedical engineering. Polizzotto and Gildner will each receive a grant of up to $7,500 for tuition, fees, books, room, and board for the next two years. The Goldwater Scholarship is intended to provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians, and engineers by awarding scholarships to college students who intend to pursue careers in these fields.