Rhodes Scholars Named: 32 Americans

Thirty-two Americans, among them the top-ranking students in the classes of 2000 and 2001 at the U.S. Military Academy, were chosen Saturday night as Rhodes Scholars.

The winners were selected by eight regional committees from among 950 applicants who were endorsed by 327 colleges and universities throughout the nation.

Rhodes Scholarships, created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes, provide two or three years of study at Oxford University in England. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor, among other attributes.

Among the winners was Nicholas O. Melin of Fox Point, Wis., who was valedictorian of the West Point class of 2000. A civil engineering graduate, he has designed quick and durable temporary housing for refugees. He is a graduate of the Army Airborne school and will soon begin Ranger training.

Seth A. Bodnar of Franklin, Pa., ranks first in the West Point class of 2001 and is a member of the academy's baseball team. As cadet commander, he has taken part in a military exchange program with Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, said the Rhodes Scholarship Trust, based in the Washington suburb of Vienna, Va.

Yale University placed three students, the most of any institution, on this year's list of winners. Harvard University, which has 295 winners over the years, the most of any U.S. institution, did not have any recipients this year.

The 32 American students chosen as Rhodes Scholars for 2001, listed by district:

District I:

• Luke A. Bronin, Greenwich, Conn., Yale University
  
• Lipika Goyal, Scotch Plains, N.J., University of Pennsylvania
  
• Brian Mullin, Milton, Mass., Yale University
  
• Miles J. Sweet, Fairfield, Maine, Wheaton College

• Zachary J. Battles, State College, Pa., Pennsylvania State University
  
• Seth A. Bodnar, Franklin, Pa., U.S. Military Academy
  
• Brandon Miller, Mohrsville, Pa., Princeton University
  
• Carl Strauchler, Orange, N.J., Yeshiva University

• Matthew Baugh, Raleigh, N.C., Duke University
  
• Niuniu Ji, Greenville, N.C., Case Western Reserve University
  
• Westley W. O. Moore, Pasadena, Md., Johns Hopkins University
  
• Thomas M. Pallathy, Newark, Del., University of Delaware

• Ben M. Goodwin, Conway, Ark., Hendrix College
  
• Thomas S. McCaleb Jr., Tallahassee, Fla., U.S. Air Force Academy
  
• Anna R. Terry, Fort Smith, Ark., University of Arkansas
  
• Bradley D. Tuggle, Decatur, Ala., University of Alabama

• Bradley J. Henderson, Loveland, Ohio, University of Chicago
  
• Sarah S. Johnson, Lexington, Ky., Washington University
  
• Raju Raval, Fort Wayne, Ind., Indiana University
  
• Rudyard W. Sadleir, Park Ridge, Ill., University of Illinois at Chicago

• Phillip N. Assmus, Madison, S.D., Luther College
  
• Ian Klau, Belvedere, Calif., Washington University
  
• Nicholas O. Merlin, Fox Point, Wis., U.S. Military Academy
  
• Molly Zahn, Stevens Point, Wis., University of Minnesota

• Joshua A. Chafetz, Houston, Texas, Yale University
  
• Sara C. Galvan, Houston, Texas, University of Texas
  
• Philip Mann, Durango, Colo., Arizona State University
  
• Joshua D. Nassiri, Hayden, Idaho, U.S. Naval Academy

• Emma Brunskill, Edmonds, Wash., University of Washington
  
• Jordan A. Krall, Encino, Calif., Amherst College
  
• Carl H. Tape, Fairbanks, Alaska, Carleton College
  
• Courtney C. J. Voelker, Portland, Ore., Brown University

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