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Three from MIT win Gates scholarships

Timothy Humpton
Caption:
Timothy Humpton
Credits:
Photo: Kimberly Benard
Weifeng Victoria Lee ’06 MArch ’10
Caption:
Weifeng Victoria Lee ’06 MArch ’10
Yufei Zhao
Caption:
Yufei Zhao

Seniors Timothy Humpton and Yufei Zhao and alumna Weifeng Victoria Lee ’06 MArch ’10 have been named Gates Cambridge Scholars for 2010.

Humpton, who is majoring in chemical engineering and biology, plans to pursue a PhD on oncology at Cambridge University. He has already conducted cancer research in the MIT laboratories of Angelika Amon and Tyler Jacks and in Ju-Tao Guo’s lab at Drexel University. His goal is to prepare for a future career in biological research and innovation with a focus on creating new technologies and devices for disease detection and treatment.

Humpton, who hails from Warrington, Pa., is a competitive cyclist who rides with the MIT Cycling Club.

Zhao, a math major who has maintained a perfect 5.0 GPA at MIT, plans to read for the certificate in the Maths Tripos Part III at Cambridge University. He has placed within the top five for the Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition three times; this competition, administered by the Mathematical Association of America, attracts more than 3,500 undergraduate contestants, who are tested for originality as well as technical competence.

Added to this impressive record, Zhao has already published three papers, including two for which he was the sole author.

After earning an SB in art and design from MIT, with Phi Beta Kappa honors, Lee traveled to Cambridge University to pursue a master’s degree in environmental design in architecture. She returned to MIT and completed her degree in January. Lee now works with the Shelter Centre, a non-governmental organization based in Switzerland that seeks to help people affected by conflicts and natural disasters.

Lee will return to the University of Cambridge to undertake doctoral studies in sustainable building design. Building on the work she began during her master’s degree to prepare her to begin her own architectural firm, she will focus on sustainable construction for earthquake-prone regions.

MIT students have won 18 of the prestigious Gates scholarships since the program was established in 2000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The scholarships cover tuition, room, board, travel and stipend for study at Cambridge.

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