College students win top scholarships for graduate study

Michelle Povinelli, a fourth-year College student concentrating in physics, has been awarded a Churchill Scholarship to study for a year at Churchill College, Cambridge. The scholarship -- one of 10 awarded annually by the Winston Churchill Foundation to U.S. students graduating in mathematics, science or engineering -- provides tuition and living and travel allowances for a year of study and research at Churchill College.

Povinelli will travel to Cambridge in September to study theoretical physics. She will receive an M.Phil. in Physics at the conclusion of her year abroad. After her stay at Cambridge, Povinelli will return to the United States to pursue graduate studies in physics, focusing on condensed-matter theory.

Abigail Waggoner, a third-year College student concentrating in economics and sociology, has been awarded a Truman Scholarship for public service. The scholarship, one of 90 awarded to U.S. students, provides $30,000 toward graduate-level work. Waggoner, currently studying in Germany, plans to pursue graduate studies focusing on the role and impact of the women's labor force in the United States, as well as other public-policy issues.

Three College students were awarded Goldwater Scholarships, which support physical and biological science majors who plan on pursuing research-related careers. The recipients are Roby Bhattacharya, a third-year student concentrating in biological chemistry; second-year Christopher Calderone, who is concentrating in chemistry; and second-year Katherine McGurn, who is concentrating in biology. Each student will receive an annual stipend of $7,000 during each year remaining in their undergraduate careers.

Every college or university in the U.S. can nominate four students in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering for the Goldwater awards. Chicago was one of a handful of institutions with three winners; only Princeton, which has an engineering department, received four awards this year.