Two Cornell University students have been named recipients of prestigious national scholarship awards. Junior Elisabeth Becker, a New York City resident and double major in the College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected to receive a Harry S. Truman Foundation Scholarship, and Kevin Joon-Ming Huang, a junior in the College of Engineering from Mechanicsburg, Pa., has won a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

Becker is one of 75 students out of 602 candidates nationwide selected to receive a Truman Scholarship and is the 18th Cornell student to receive this scholarship since the first awards were granted in 1977. The scholarship provides $30,000 toward graduate study for students dedicated to public service.

"I can't wait to use my public service experiences at Cornell -- promoting genocide awareness, sustainability and human rights -- to affect refugee policy in the United States and beyond," said Becker. "I am especially excited to meet all of the other Truman scholars and to learn about their goals and experiences."

Becker is a Cornell College Scholar with a major in sociology and a self-designed major studying the transnational effects of trauma on culture. In addition, she is a Telluride Scholar at Cornell; the Darfur Fundraising Committee chair; treasurer of STARS, a student group focused on genocide awareness; vice president of the Caceres-Neuffer Society for Humanitarian Affairs; publicist for Cornell's chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World; and former president of the Cornell chapter of GlamourGals, a service group that provides companionship and cosmetic therapies for elderly women.

"Elisabeth is one of those very rare students whose commitment to social change and public service work in perfect tandem with her great intellect and dedication to her academic pursuits," said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of Labor Education Research at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations and who serves on the Cornell Truman Scholarship Committee. "She will make a terrific Truman Scholar, but more importantly, she will make a difference."

In summer 2004 Becker worked at an international committee with refugees in New York City and traveled to Kosovo, where she tutored former refugees and worked for the International Rescue Committee at a day camp for refugees. In summer 2003 she worked as a claims investigator with the New York State Department of Human Rights. She plans eventually to pursue a joint master's degree in international affairs and social work at Columbia University with the long-term goal of influencing refugee resettlement policy.

The Truman Scholarship Foundation was established by congress in 1975 as the federal memorial to America's 33rd president. The first awards were made in 1977, and 2,405 Truman Scholars have been elected since that time.

Cornell applicants are nominated by members of the Cornell Truman Committee whose members include Bronfenbrenner; Thomas Lyson, the Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor of Development Sociology; Alan Mathios, professor of policy analysis and management and associate dean of Human Ecology; Elizabeth Sanders, professor of government; and Beth Fiori, Cornell fellowship coordinator.

Huang is one of 320 Goldwater Scholars selected this year from 1,091 candidates nominated by colleges and universities nationwide. He joins 26 Cornellians who have won the Goldwater Scholarship in the past eight years.

Huang is a materials science and engineering major who specializes in novel photonic/optical materials. Throughout his undergraduate career, he has conducted original, independent research on methods of assembling components for microcircuits, including self-assembly of photonic crystals and photolithography of metal film resistors.

He is a Cornell Presidential Research Scholar, the president of the Engineering Student Council, the program chair of the Cornell Materials Society, the executive board service representative of Engineers for a Sustainable World and a member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Honor Society. He also is an Engineering Peer Tutor, an Engineering Ambassador and a member of the Cornell Undergraduate Research Board.

Among all his activities he places research first. "Every day I learn something new because every day I'm doing something no one has ever done before," he explained. He plans to conduct research and teach at the university level.

The Goldwater Scholarship Program, now in its 17th 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.

Huang was recommended for the award by Chekesha Liddell, assistant professor, Robert van Dover, professor, and Alison Shull, lecturer, all in materials science and engineering.