MEMORANDUM

To: Students and Faculty Interested in the Goldwater Scholarships

From: Dr. Mark Warner, University of Idaho Faculty Representative for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships

Present sophomores and juniors (defined as planning upon one more year of undergraduate study for juniors, two more years for "sophomores") in the upper quarter of their class with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and planning a career that includes advanced degrees in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering are encouraged to review the information in this memorandum and the information and application materials at the Goldwater website: http://www.act.org/goldwater to determine whether they may be eligible and interested in applying for the Goldwater Scholarship. This national scholarship pays up to $7,500 per year for the final one or two years of a winner's undergraduate career.

After reviewing and downloading the application materials, interested students should contact Dr. Mark Warner at mwarner@uidaho.edu (885-6147) to indicate their intention to apply for the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, and to arrange for advice as they complete their application.

The campus deadline for completed applications is Monday November 12, 2007 (submit seven copies of completed Nominee Information Form, Nominee's Essay, unofficial copies of all college transcripts, and request that three recommenders (at least two faculty members who can discuss your career potential, with at least one faculty member in your field of study--another recommender can be an individual or faculty member who can attest to your potential, such as a research mentor) send Independent Evaluation of Nominee forms (sealed in an envelope) directly to Dr. Warner. Note: the recommenders only need to submit one copy of their letter of support. The UI Goldwater Committee may nominate up to four students, whose applications will be forwarded to the national competition.

Applicants are instructed to download and print application materials online at the Goldwater website: http://www.act.org/goldwater. The Goldwater site includes the Bulletin of Information, Candidacy Information and Instructions, Nominee Information Form (this form has several multipart subsections: Biographical Questionnaire, Your Schooling, Your Programs and Activities), Nominee Essay form, three Independent Evaluation of Nominee forms, and the Secondary School Transcript Request Form. Faculty recommendations (three) should be sent directly to Dr. Warner at the Honors Program office, Room 315 Idaho Commons (PO Box 442533, Moscow, ID 83844-2533). Prospective applicants also are advised to confer with their own academic mentors and advisers, particularly faculty who may write recommendations on their behalf, to request guidance on their ideas and on drafts of their application.

Additional criterion for eligibility: applicants must be a United States citizen, a resident alien, or, in the case of nominees from American Samoa or the Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands, a U.S. national. Nominations from resident aliens must include a letter of the nominee's intent to obtain U.S. citizenship and a photocopy of the Alien Registration Card.

Several UI students have received this prestigous national scholarship in recent years. Please note that successful applicants in recent years have had very high overall GPAs, significant extracurricular activities, and outside of classroom learning or research or field/lab/internship based experiences related to their field of study and career interests. Successful applicants also have discussed in the Nominee's Essay a significant issue or problem in their field of study, including ideas for further or necessary research and the problem's relevance to the field of study. For example, here are titles from recent nominee's essays: (1) "Mathematical Modeling of the Heart; (2) "A rapid PCR test for detecting E.coli 0157:H7 and mammalian cells in water; (3) "Catalytic Carbonylation of Amines to Ureas; (4) Evolutionary pathways for host switching in a virus; (5) "Determinants of Egg Quality During Short Term Storage; (6) Moving Forward Fisheries Science: the need to understand non-game species; (7) "Zeolites: Sponges for Nuclear Waste"; "Atoms for More Energy: An Evolution in the Nuclear Power Industry,""Using the Microwave Properties of Minerals to Determine Their Water or Hydroxide Content" and "A New Weapon Against STDs: Probiotics."

The committee encourages students to consider that the process of completing an application can be a significant and useful endeavor, one that prompts applicants to reflect upon their experience, expertise, and career plans. Dr. Warner and committee members may be available to review rough drafts of applications prior to the November 12 campus deadline.

For further information, please contact Dr. Mark Warner, University Honors Program (208-885-6147;mwarner@uidaho.edu)