CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Jonathan Hollander, a senior majoring in materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is among 11 students nationwide to receive a Churchill Scholarship for study at Cambridge University in England.
The Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States awards the prestigious scholarship to American undergraduate students planning to pursue graduate studies in science, mathematics or engineering at Cambridge's Churchill College. The foundation selects students based on their academic record, capacity for original and independent work, character and adaptability, and demonstrated leadership and concern for the critical problems of society. Valued at approximately $35,000, the scholarship covers the cost of tuition, fees and living expenses at Cambridge.
Hollander, of 615 Churchill Court in Fayetteville, N.Y., will begin a one-year master's program in semiconductor physics at Cambridge this fall. His research focus will be on improving gallium nitride materials in order to increase the efficiency of LEDs and lasers, and to produce high-temperature transistor devices.
"Like most aspiring scientists," Hollander said, "I want to make a contribution toward the technological advances that are changing our world."
In addition to working with U. of I. faculty members as an undergraduate, Hollander has pursued summer research opportunities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Syracuse University and the University of California at Santa Barbara. He also has served as a teaching assistant in an upper-level course, "Kinetics of Materials."
Outside the classroom, Hollander competed on the university's underwater hockey team, and as club president, led the team to a second national championship.
After he completes the master's program at Cambridge, Hollander plans to enter a doctoral program at MIT. His career goals include pursuing a career in corporate research and, perhaps, starting an optoelectronics research company.
"Jonathan Hollander will continue the strong University of Illinois alumni legacy at Cambridge University, as now 10 of our students in the past five years have been awarded prestigious scholarships to study at that English institution," said David Schug, who heads the U. of I. Office of Scholarships for International Study.
Schug said the office is recruiting applicants for 2006-07 awards. The preliminary application deadline is June 1.
For more information, contact Schug at 217-244-0254.