Three Hope College students -- Eric Lunderberg, Robert Sjoholm and Valerie Winton -- have received Honorable Mention recognition from the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation.

The foundation awarded 278 scholarships for the 2010-11 academic year to undergraduate sophomores and juniors from throughout the United States.  Another 169, like Lunderberg, Sjoholm and Winton, received Honorable Mention recognition.

The scholarship recipients and Honorable mention designees were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,111 mathematics, science and engineering students who were nominated by the faculties of their colleges and universities.

Numerous Hope students have earned either scholarships or Honorable Mention from the foundation through the years.  In the past five years, for example, a total of six students have received scholarships and eight have received Honorable Mention.

° Eric Lunderberg is a sophomore from Grandville.  Majoring in physics and mathematics, he has been conducting collaborative research with Dr. Paul DeYoung, who is the Kenneth G. Herrick Professor of Physics and Chairperson of the Department.  Lunderberg is the son of Jon and Marla Lunderberg of Grandville, and a 2008 graduate of Grandville High School.

° Robert Sjoholm is a sophomore from Burnsville, Minn.  Majoring in chemistry and biology, he has been conducting collaborative research with Dr. Moses Lee, who is dean for the natural and applied sciences and a professor of chemistry.  Sjoholm is the son of Lars and Marlene Sjoholm of Burnsville, and a 2008 graduate of Minnehaha Academy.

° Valerie Winton is a junior from Lake Bluff, Ill.  Majoring in chemistry, she has been conducting collaborative research with Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, assistant professor of chemistry.  She is the daughter of Richard and Eva Winton of Lake Bluff, and a 2007 graduate of Lake Forest High School.

The Goldwater Foundation is a federally endowed agency established by Public Law 99-661 on November 14, 1986. The Scholarship Program honoring Senator Barry M. Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, and engineering.  In its 24-year history, the Foundation has awarded 6,079 scholarships worth approximately $58 million.