Andrew Manion, a senior University of Notre Dame mathematics and music major from Coon Rapids, Minn., has been awarded a 2009-10 Winston Churchill Scholarship for graduate work at the University of Cambridge in England.
He is one of just 14 college students chosen nationwide by the Winston Churchill Foundation for the one-year award, which is valued between $44,000 and $50,000.
Manion, the first Churchill scholar from Notre Dame since the program began in 1963, will study for the certificate of advanced study in pure mathematics at Cambridge. His research interests include algebraic and differential geometry and algebraic topology.
A Goldwater Scholar, Manion has participated in two National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates and is the recipient of Notre Dame’s Balles Award for the outstanding senior honors mathematics major, the Talifaerro Prize for first place in the mathematics essay competition for sophomores, and the Aumann Prize for first-year students in mathematics.
He plays percussion, saxophone, oboe, English horn and piano and is a member of the Notre Dame Marching Band (drum captain), Symphonic Winds Ensemble (saxophone section leader), Orchestra (oboist), and Chorale.
After his studies at Cambridge, Manion plans to pursue a doctorate in theoretical mathematics.
The Churchill Scholarship encourages the exchange of knowledge and the sharing of ideas in science and technology between the U.S. and Great Britain. Recipients are American undergraduates planning to pursue graduate studies in science, mathematics or engineering. They are chosen for outstanding academic and extracurricular accomplishments. Candidates also are evaluated on academic work, Graduate Record Examination scores, capacity for original and creative work, outstanding personal qualities, and demonstrated concern for critical problems of society.