ITHACA, N.Y. -- Three Cornell University students have won 1996 Goldwater Scholarships for their achievements in science and mathematics.

The Cornell undergraduates are: Jessika Trancik '97, a materials science and engineering major in the College of Engineering; Robert Kleinberg '97, a mathematics major in the College of Arts and Sciences; and Daniel Klein '98, a college scholar, also in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The national Goldwater Scholarship program was established in 1986, in the name of former Arizona Sen. Barry M. Goldwater, to honor students who have demonstrated outstanding potential for and commitment to careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and some fields of engineering. Each scholarship provides winners a maximum of $7,000 per year for tuition, fees, books, and room and board, with sophomores receiving two years of support and juniors one year.

The Cornell students are among 264 Goldwater Scholarship winners nationwide, chosen from a pool of 1,200 sophomores and juniors nominated by their colleges and universities.

Daniel Klein is a graduate of Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) High School, near Pittsburgh. Describing his Cornell studies, the sophomore said: "I have a fundamental belief that to understand how reality works, we need to understand mathematics, which tells us what is "true"; computer science, which tells us what is actually feasible, and linguistics, which tells us how the human mind fits into the picture. My program as a college scholar combines areas of interaction among these three disciplines in an attempt to study what is behind it all. It is, in essence, the study of the patterns that pervade and define reality."

He credits his academic success to being raised by his mother to love learning, the teachers who took the time and effort to encourage him and enhance his abilities, and his involvement since he was 8 in martial arts -- karate in particular. "(Karate) has given me a confidence that has carried over into the rest of my life," Klein said.

He also credits Cornell with allowing him the freedom to form his own course of study in the College Scholar program. "The broad scope and high quality of the university has enabled me to study all the facets of my interests effectively," he said.

Klein is proficient in French, Spanish and Italian. His activities include being a math support center tutor, a Shito-Ryu karate teacher and president of the Shito-Ryu Karate Club, and an orientation counselor. He said he plans to earn a Ph.D. in a field, or fields, related to his principal interests and then teach and do research at a university.

Robert Kleinberg is a graduate of Iroquois Central High School in Elma, NY., where he was valedictorian. His interests in math are still very general, he said, and he hasn't yet specialized in a single field, although the area of math in which he has taken the most courses is topology. "But last year," Kleinberg said, "my research was in collaboration with a computer science professor, focusing on problems in graph theory, with applications to computer network design." This semester, his research is in the area of group theory.

Kleinberg said he has a hard time explaining to people exactly why he chose mathematics as a concentration. "In truth, I feel as if I never had to make a choice," he said. "Math is so central to my way of thinking about things that it always seemed natural for my studies to focus on math." The junior said he's pleased with the academic environment Cornell has provided him. "My classes have been challenging, and I am grateful to have found professors who responded so enthusiastically to my interest in doing research. At the same time, Cornell provides an inexhaustible array of opportunities for exploring my other interests outside of mathematics," he said.

After graduation, Kleinberg wants to go to graduate school and pursue a Ph.D. in mathematics and eventually become a math professor, he said.

Jessika Trancik, who recently was named to the USA Today newspaper All USA College Academic team, is a graduate of Ithaca High School in Ithaca, N.Y. In her studies at Cornell, she has pursued research on metal-ceramic composites and on thin films for magnetic data storage, has two patent applications -- one for a technique featured in Business Week, Inside R+D, Technical Insight and New Scientists -- and has completed 10 technical papers and presentations.

The junior credits her diverse experiences while growing up - - living in Sweden and in Italy and learning to deal with many different environments, cultures and situations -- as a primary factor in her development as a student. She is fluent in Swedish and is a member of Cornell's ski team and women's tennis team.

Trancik said she would like to combine her interests in engineering with her interests in humanities, linguistics and design in a future career.