ITHACA, N.Y. -- Two undergraduate students at Cornell University, juniors Lara E. Douglas and Benjamin E. Wolfe, have been awarded scholarships for the 2002-03 academic year by the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy Foundation.

Cornell's Udall Scholarships are among 80 nationwide awarded from an applicant pool of 447, and cover up to $5,000 in eligible expenses for the year. Another Cornell student, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences junior Peter Hosner, was named an honorable-mention recipient of $350 for educational expenses.

The scholarships were authorized by Congress in 1992 to honor "Mo" Udall (1922-98), the former U.S. Representative from Arizona, and to commemorate his legacy. Open to undergraduates in any field of study, the Udall Scholarships typically go to students majoring in the natural sciences, environmental engineering, natural resource management, government, the social sciences, health care or public policy. They are intended to help students prepare for careers in the fields of environmental public policy, health care or tribal public policy. In the last five years, Cornellians have garnered 15 Udall Scholarships -- a national record.

Originally from St. Louis, Douglas is a College Scholar in the College of Arts and Sciences with majors in economics and the science of earth systems. She plans a career in environmental public policy with a government agency and says: "I hope to develop policies and programs in developing countries or the United States to prevent or alleviate environmental decimation."

Wolfe is from Dallas, Pa., and is majoring in natural resources at Cornell, where he also held a Udall Scholarship in the 2001-02 academic year. His goal is to work in an organization or academic institution "where I can act as a conduit between environmental science and the policy that can and should be guided by science."

Also a natural resources major, the honorable-mention recipient Hosner is from Holly, Minn., and hopes to join the faculty of a major university "so that I can teach and conduct research in wildlife biology, environmental science and ornithology."