Duke Announces Winners of A.B. Duke Scholarships

Eighteen high school graduates have won prestigious Angier B. Duke Memorial Scholarships, which are undergraduate merit awards at Duke University.

The awards cover full tuition plus room and board for four years at Duke (one year may be spent abroad on a university-approved program) and include a six-week summer study program at Oxford University, England. Based on estimated tuition rates, a scholarship will be worth more than $200,000 over a four-year period.

The A.B. Duke Scholarships are awarded to outstanding students who show promise of being intellectual leaders. The scholarships stem from the Angier B. Duke Memorial Inc., established in 1925 by Benjamin N. and Sarah P. Duke to honor their son, Angier Buchanan Duke. Benjamin N. Duke was the brother of James B. Duke who played a pivotal role in the founding of the university.

This year's winners are:

-- Tyler Benjamin Adkins of Pfafftown, N.C., a graduate of Forsyth Country Day School and son of Ken and Jennifer Adkins.

-- Michael W. Asher of Durham, N.C., a graduate of Durham School of the Arts and son of Steven Asher and Gladys Williams.

-- Elizabeth H. Beam of Solon, Ohio, a graduate of Gilmour Academy and daughter of Francis and Patricia Beam.

-- Gurdane Singh Bhutani of Orlando, Fla., a graduate of Lake Highland Prep and son of Kanwarjit Singh and Sukhpreet Bhutani.

-- Elena Dolores Botella of Charlotte, N.C., a graduate of Myers Park High School and daughter of Francisco Botella and Mary Dorland.

-- Rui Dai of Beachwood, Ohio, a graduate of Beachwood High School and daughter of Jiachun Dai and Yan Yang.

-- Brendan Patrick Farmer of Westford, Vt., a graduate of Essex High School and son of Edward and Joan Farmer.

-- Niloy Ghosh of Portland, Ore., a graduate of Westview High School and son of Prosenjit and Aditi Ghosh.

-- Lucy Langdon Goodson of Newport News, Va., a graduate of Hampton Roads Academy and daughter of Pax and Melissa Goodson.

-- Kenneth Bradley Hoehn of Canton, Ga., a graduate of Creekview High School and son of Mike and Fran Hoehn.

-- Jeline Dominique Rabideau of West Palm Beach, Fla., a graduate of Dreyfoos School of the Arts and daughter of Guy and Chimane Rabideau.

-- Will Joseph Scheideler of Bennet, Neb., a graduate of Lincoln East High School and son of William and Sheila Scheideler.

-- Neha Sharma of Plano, Texas, a graduate of Plano East Senior High School and daughter of Atul and Ritu Sharma.

-- Clara Kwon Starkweather of Athens, Ga., a graduate of Cedar Shoals High School and daughter of Julie Kwon Starkweather.

-- Jennifer E. Villa of Coral Gables, Fla., a graduate of Carrollton School and daughter of Luis and Jennifer Villa.

-- Bo-Tsuong Xiang of Charlotte, N.C., a graduate of Myers Park High School and son of Wei-Ning Xiang and Yin-Tao Wang.

-- Faraz Netanel Yashar of Longwood, Fla., a graduate of Seminole High School and son of Farzin and Azita Yashar.

-- Peter Y. Zhu of Cary, N.C., a graduate of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and son of Zhaofeng Zhu and Meimei Xu.