Polking

ITHACA, N.Y. -- Mark Polking, a junior in the College of Engineering at Cornell University, has received a 2004 Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, considered the premier undergraduate award in mathematics, science and engineering.

Polking grew up in Boone, Iowa, and graduated from nearby Ames High School. He is majoring in materials science and engineering, a field that draws on chemistry, physics and other disciplines to create better metals, plastics, ceramics, semiconductors, and composites and other materials used to build everything from microchips to aircraft to artificial body parts.

He has been conducting research under Christopher Umbach, Cornell professor of materials science and engineering, on the nature of fractures in glass, with the goal of creating more resilient glasses. In his senior year, he hopes to find a research project on electrical and magnetic properties of solids, perhaps with application to superconductors. He also has spent the past two summers in research jobs at the University of Iowa and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames. He plans to go on to graduate school with the eventual goal of becoming a faculty member in a research university in the United States or the United Kingdon.

Polking is a member of the engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi and the Golden Key Honor Society, and he resides in the German Language House. He has worked as a tutor in freshman engineering classes.

The Goldwater Scholarship Program, now in its 16th year, honors the late U.S. Sen. Barry M. Goldwater and is aimed at students who plan careers in science. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 per year. Polking is one of 310 recipients nationwide, chosen from 1,113 candidates nominated by their schools. Since 1992, 29 Cornell students have won the award. Polking was recommended for the award by Umbach, Shefford Baker, professor of materials science and engineering, and Harry Stewart, professor of civil and environmental engineering.