Cornell's Merrill Presidential Scholars Program will honor 36 Cornell seniors this week and the high school teachers and university faculty members who made important contributions to the students' lives.

Each spring semester, 36 scholars, representing approximately 1 percent of the graduating class, are named to receive this honor by the deans of each of Cornell's seven undergraduate colleges. The scholars, in turn, recognize a high school teacher who most inspired their scholastic development and a Cornell faculty member who most significantly contributed to their college experience. The high school teachers are invited to campus as guests of the university to participate in two days of events.

The Merrill Presidential Scholars Program is made possible by funding from the late Philip Merrill '55. The high school teachers are honored under the STAR (Special Teachers Are Recognized) Scholarship established in 1989 with support from the late Donald Berens and his wife, Margi Berens, both members of the Class of 1947. STAR is supported through additional gifts from alumni and friends. A one-time $4,000 scholarship is established in each teacher's name for a financially needy Cornell student from the teacher's high school or geographical area.

The 2007 Merrill Scholars are listed below by college, with their hometowns, followed by the names of the secondary school teachers and the Cornell faculty members the students selected for recognition:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Elizabeth B. Acker, Albany, N.Y.; Marie Guagliardo-Day, Albany High School; Debbie Cherney, associate professor, animal science.

Sameer Ahmed, Edison, N.J.; Johanna C. Stohler, Edison High School; David P. McCobb, associate professor, neurobiology and behavior.

Kelsey Ann DeBriyn, Houlton, Wis.; Elizabeth Jaeger, Hill-Murray School; Kathy Berggren, senior lecturer, communication.

Graham John Dow, Burlington, Ontario, Canada; Tony Bright, Nelson High School; Peter J. Davies, professor, plant biology.

Lenni Kimawati, Jakarta Timur, Jakarta; Lee Kiaw Lucy Ng, Crescent Girls' School; Janice Brown, senior lecturer, food science.

Jennifer Marie Martinez, Cortland, N.Y.; Gary G. Podsiedlik, Homer Senior High School; William C. Ghiorse, professor, microbiology.

Eric A. Mihelc, Endicott, N.Y.; Shane Hurd, Union Endicott High School; Richard Curtis, senior lecturer, applied economics and management.

Yuanyuan Zhang, Shandong, China; Lifang Liu, Yantai No. 2 Middle School; Gretel H. Pelto, visiting professor, nutritional sciences.

College of Architecture, Art and Planning

Patricia M. Brizzio, Montevideo, Uruguay; Mary Campbell, the British Schools, Montevideo; Ciro Najle, visiting critic, architecture.

Kathleen C. Hawkes, Ithaca, N.Y.; David Lehman, Lehman Alternative Community School; Elisabeth Meyer, associate professor, art.

College of Arts and Sciences

Marcus Jonathan Cohn, Bedford Hills, N.Y.; Michael Terlizzi, the Fox Lane High School; Robert F. Young, professor, city and regional planning.

Kevin Y. Hwang, Cupertino, Calif.; Richard Hartzell, the Harker School; John D. Helmann, professor, microbiology.

Jacqueline C. Kelly, New Windsor, N.Y.; Ellen Anderson, Our Lady of Lourdes High School; Mary Beth Norton, professor, history.

Zachary Sadoff Launer, Golden Valley, Minn; Andrea Jule Sachs, St. Paul Academy and Summit School; Kerry Cook, professor, earth and atmospheric sciences.

Emily Tilson Ranii, Raleigh, N.C.; Lisa Covington, William G. Enloe High School; Beth Milles, assistant professor, theatre, film and dance.

Amy J. Saltzman, Corning, Iowa; Steven Smyth, Lenox High School; Gil Gillespie, senior research associate, development sociology.

Eugenia Shmidt, Secaucus, N.J.; Nina Lavlinskaia, High Tech High School; Alice M. Isen, professor, psychology, marketing.

Calvin Geoffrey Selth, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Kristina Charles, Charter Oak High School; Karen Graubart, professor, psychology.

Thiti Taychatanapat, Washington, D.C.; Wunnee Khisnachakrawat, Watsuthiwararam School; Daniel C. Ralph, professor, physics.

Matthew Alan Tucker, Marshall, Wis.; Mary Brink, Marshall High School; John Whitman, professor, linguistics.

Nina Wong, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Beth Malchiodi, Brooklyn Technical High School; Richard Canfield, senior associate professor, nutritional sciences.

College of Engineering

Kelly N. Conway, North Pitcher, N.Y.; Francis J. McGouldrick, Allentown Central Catholic High School; Thorsten Joachims, associate professor, computer science.

John J. Erickson, St. Louis Park, Minn.; Joan Brinkman, St. Louis Park High School; Monroe Weber-Shirk, senior lecturer, civil and environmental engineering.

Kevin L. Graf, Frederick, Md.; Bob Sheffler, Middletown High School; David Lee Hysell, professor, electrical and computer engineering.

Ji Gu, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China; Yi Wu, Suzhou Middle School of Jiangsu Province; David Ruppert, professor, operations research and engineering.

Wen Rong Lim, Singapore; Lih Sin Lee, Raffles Junior College; Charles Williamson, professor, mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Elizabeth J. Marcil, Lexington, Mass; Karen D. Girondel, Lexington High School; Alfred Center, senior lecturer, chemical engineering.

Andrew Harris Tibbits, Newcastle, Calif.; William Stanley Kurnett, Del Oro High School; Jose Martinez, assistant professor, computer systems.

College of Human Ecology

Joseph M. Clark, East Meadow, N.Y.; John Boglioli, Holy Trinity High School; Bill Rosen, senior lecturer, policy analysis and management.

Karyn Ann Hartz, Ithaca; Adam Heck, Lansing High School; Judy Ross-Bernstein, senior lecturer, human development.

Yoon-Hee Hong, South Korea; Louise Hull, Tabernacle Christian Academy; Richard Canfield, senior associate professor, nutritional sciences.

Nathan William Skelley, Joplin, Mo.; Susan Day, Joplin High School; Nancy Breen, lecturer, textiles and apparel.

School of Hotel Administration

Lydia Z. Hao, Abbotsford, B.C., Canada; Jacob Wall Martens, Gladstone Secondary School; Charles Chang, assistant professor, finance, accounting, real estate.

Peng-Wei Tan, Singapore; Richard S. Shorter, Winchester College; Charles Chang, assistant professor, assistant professor, finance, accounting, real estate.

School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Christopher J. Bordoni, Fayetteville, N.Y.; Donna Oppedisano, Jamesville DeWitt High School; George R. Boyer, professor, labor economics.

Julia Rose Hoffman, Slingerlands, N.Y.; Anne Peterson Conolly, Albany Academy for Girls; Cletus E. Daniel, professor, collective bargaining, labor law, labor history.