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Media Relations

Last modified: Monday, July 13, 2009

Wells Scholar bound for England

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Yun William Yu started college at an age when most American teenagers are still dreaming of having a driver's license.

At 15, the math- and science-loving teen graduated as valedictorian from Southridge High School in Huntingburg, Indiana, and entered IU Bloomington as a Herman B Wells Scholar studying biology. Now 19, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with majors in chemistry, mathematics and Germanic studies.

Yu has been described by his professors as "the best IU has to offer" and "a modern Renaissance Man in development."

Just before graduating from IU, Yu was named a 2009 Marshall Scholar by the British government, an honor that will enable him to spend two years in Britain, earning master's degrees in computational biology at the University of Cambridge and biomedical physical chemistry at Imperial College London.

Yu counts his mentors as the late J. Michael Walker, a neuroscientist, and Kent Orr, a professor in the Department of Mathematics.

"Working in Professor Walker's lab pointed me toward a career in research, and Professor Orr was the reason I became a math major," said Yu.

Yu admits to loving the process of research, but some of his favorite IU memories have nothing to do with academics.

"I really enjoyed going to a lot of the Department of Theatre and Drama productions, and to operas whenever possible. I hang out at Collins a lot," he said. "Swing dancing is probably my primary social activity."

Read more about Yu in the following stories:

Teaching and Learning Magazine: "The Joys, Trials, and Tribulations of Scientific Inquiry" (May 6, 2009)
http://www.indiana.edu/~tandlpub/story.php?story_id=111

IU News Room: "IU honors student named Britain's Marshall Scholar winner" (Dec. 4, 2008)
http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/9410.html

IDS INside Magazine: "Confessions of a boy genius" (Dec. 1, 2008)
http://www.idsnews.com/inside/?p=667

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