Fifteen students and graduates from the University of California, Davis, were recently named recipients of some of the most prestigious scholarships awarded in the United States. The awards include the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, the Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Award and Graduate Research Fellowships awarded by the National Science Foundation. The winning of the Goldwater scholarships and student participation in a national undergraduate research conference highlight the increased efforts of the university to showcase its undergraduate teaching and research in prestigious national competitions. "I'm thrilled our undergraduates compete so well for these awards," says Patricia Turner, vice provost for undergraduate studies at UC Davis. "We encourage our faculty to support students who wish to submit applications for these and other awards." Luke Donev and Anne Elliott are among the 309 national winners of this year's Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships, worth up to $7,500 each. They were selected on academic merit from among 1,176 applicants studying mathematics, science or engineering at universities and colleges across the country. Monica Rani is the winner of a $10,000 Donald A. Strauss Public Service Scholarship Award. The Donald A. Strauss Scholarship Foundation annually awards at least 15 scholarships to juniors at colleges and universities in California who have demonstrated an interest in public service and leadership potential. Rani, majoring in political science, will use the $10,000 award for a Sacramento-based project to provide Indian immigrants from South Asia with information on how to become U.S. citizens. As well, 12 UC Davis students and graduates are among 850 winners of the Graduate Research Fellowships awarded by the National Science Foundation this year. The fellowships, which provide $16,200 a year for three years for full-time graduate study, are awarded to those expected to make significant contributions to research, teaching and industrial applications in science, mathematics and engineering. The UC Davis winners are Gregory Benison, Christopher Dillon, Michael Goedde, Rashi Gupta, Jeff Maxwell, Susan Palmer, Kathleen Prudic, Maryam Soltani, Joseph Teran, Issac Trotts, Carol Tydell and Tami von Schalscha. With the winning of the Goldwater scholarships, the university continues to realize the rewards of its increased efforts to help undergraduates compete for major scholarships. In the fall of 1997, the university began to give greater priority to recruiting and guiding students through the demanding application process for 13 prestigious awards such as the Rhodes Scholarship. The office of the Davis Honors Challenge program, which offers highly motivated undergraduates more challenging coursework and closer contact with faculty, helps students prepare extensive applications requiring a transcript, short answers and essays, two to eight letters of recommendation, as well as a letter of endorsement from the university. Three students won Goldwater scholarships in 1999. Also, 14 other students presented research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at the University of Montana in April.