As a senior at the University of Pittsburgh, Justin M. Chalker already had built an impressive resume, winning university and national awards and scholarships and compiling a 3.99 cumulative grade point average.

	Justin Chalker

Mr. Chalker, 22, of Meade, Kan., who majors in chemistry and the history and philosophy of science, was named one of 32 recipients across the United States of the prestigious scholarships.

"It's a bit overwhelming," Mr. Chalker said, shortly after returning to Pittsburgh last night. "All of the other candidates are some of the most outstanding students in the country and it was truly an honor to meet them and learn about their areas of study and interest."

During the interview process, Mr. Chalker said committee members asked "probing, interesting questions."

"The questions stretched you intellectually," he said. "We all waited for about four hours while they deliberated and when they returned they announced the winners. It was overwhelming."

Selected from among 903 applicants at 333 colleges and universities, Mr. Chalker and the other students can enter Oxford University in England next October for up to three years of study. The scholarships are worth about $40,000 per year.

They were created in 1902 by the will of British philanthropist Cecil Rhodes. Winners are selected on the basis of high academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and physical vigor, among other attributes.

In addition to the American students, about 50 scholars are selected from 13 other countries. With yesterday's selections, 3,078 Americans have won Rhodes Scholarships, representing 307 colleges and universities.

Among previous scholarship winners are former President Bill Clinton, entertainer Kris Kristofferson and National Basketball Association Hall of Famer and former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley.

Mr. Chalker was the fourth Pitt student to be named a Rhodes Scholar. Pitt's previous winners were David Frederick (1983), Donna Roberts (1987) and Nathan Urban (1991).

This year, Yale University had four Rhodes Scholars; Duke University, the University of Chicago and the U.S. Naval Academy each had three.

Mr. Chalker was a recipient of the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship last year and the university's 2002 Composition Program Writing Award. He is completing research on new chemical reactions in the synthesis of kainic acid, an organic compound used in Alzheimer's disease research.

Alec Stewart, dean of Pitt's Honors College and faculty member in the physics department, said Mr. Chalker is "first-class as an academic and first-class as a human being."

"He's been very active in outreach efforts for science literacy and is an individual for whom the public good is one of his private values. Justin has had superb mentors, faculty and staff, and he has taken advantage of that."

In addition to his science education, he has developed innovative education programs for the Pittsburgh YMCA.

"I'm almost speechless," said Mr. Chalker's father, Harold, from his home in Meade. "It's so wonderful for a son to come from a small farming community of about 1,000 people to win such a prestigious award. Justin has always been a hard worker."