UW praises its scholars

Emma Brunskill has what it takes to be a Rhodes scholar, what with dual degrees in computer engineering and physics, her work on seven research teams, a summer at a prestigious European nuclear-physics research center and myriad awards.

But what really caught the interest of the Rhodes selection committee was the quiet student's senior project: a computer system that recognizes American Sign Language.

She "is an extraordinary person even among extraordinary people," said Edward Lazowska, chairman of the University of Washington Department of Computer Science and Engineering, who had written in his nomination letter, "Emma has more promise than any other student I have encountered in my 23 years at the University of Washington. She is literally the best I have known."

Yesterday the 21-year-old UW graduate, the school's first Rhodes scholar in 20 years, was back home from graduate school and was honored by faculty, family and friends on the Seattle campus where she enrolled at age 15.

Brunskill was one of 16 people whose work was cited at yesterday afternoon's celebration of UW scholars. Three others were, like Brunskill, participants in the school's Early Entrance Program: her sister, Amelia Brunskill, a Mary Gates scholar; Annika Peter, nominated for a Goldwater scholarship; and Thomas Carlson, a Junior Medal winner in Computer Science and Engineering.

All are testimony, Lazowska said, to "the great legacy" left by Nancy Robinson, the longtime director of the Early Entrance Program who retired Sept. 1.

Robinson replied, "When we are right for a student, we are very, very right."

Richard McCormick, UW president, said such students enter a place of unlimited learning opportunity and then seize that opportunity. "We are trying to increase the number of students who drink as deeply of that opportunity as Emma did," he said.

At the UW, Brunskilll did research in medical genetics, physical chemistry, geophysics, atomic physics, distributed operating systems, computational particle physics and data mining. She swam and rowed competitively and coordinated the undergraduate mentor program and the campus Amnesty International group.

She now is a Ph.D. candidate in computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she will continue before heading to Oxford University in England for the Rhodes scholarship study this spring.

Brunskill yesterday said all the platitudes were "way too flattering." She thanked her UW instructors and fellow students, who she said were all intelligent, "and most of all, fun."

Clare Brunskill, Emma's mother, said she and her husband, Andrew, did nothing out of the ordinary in raising their scholarly daughter.

"We just gave her lots of space," she said.

Also honored at yesterday's ceremony were:

** Timothy Chin, Devin Kipp and Hoang Nhan, nominees (along with Peter) for Goldwater scholarships in science, math and engineering.

** Jennie Keith, David Roberts and Jasmin Weaver, nominees for Truman scholarships in government and public service.

** Kevin Zatloukal, one of two national winners of the Computing Research Association's outstanding undergraduates award, and Matt Rosencrantz and Steve Zhang, who received honorable mentions.

** Lisa Lurie, Angela Picard and Allison Van, Udall scholarship nominees for environmental studies.