Multitalented UW graduate earns Rhodes scholarship

Emma Brunskill, the University of Washington’s first Rhodes scholar in at least two decades, shares a moment with Dr. Kate Noble, head of the Robinson Center for Youth Scholars yesterday. They P-I Photo

By any measure, Brunskill -- who entered the University of Washington at age 15, currently studies at MIT and recently was named the UW's first Rhodes scholar in at least two decades -- is someone.

She also is self-effacing, poised and polite, traits that were evident yesterday as UW officials celebrated her achievement at a reception.

"I'm still awe-inspired by my friends," said Brunskill, 21, of Edmonds. "I'm put to shame by some of their political knowledge. There are many, many more talented people than me."

Still, Ed Lazowska, chairman of the UW's Department of Computer Science and Engineering, called Brunskill "an extraordinary woman even among extraordinary people."

Her resume is studded with accolades and achievements. She graduated magna cum laude with degrees in computer engineering and physics from the UW in June and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology lured her to its doctoral program in electrical engineering and computer science by naming her a Presidential Scholar.

Before she completes the MIT program, Brunskill will head to Oxford University in England in late spring to begin her Rhodes scholarship and work toward a master's degree in experimental psychology.

Lazowska considers Brunskill to have "more promise than any other student I have encountered in my 23 years at the University of Washington." He cited her significant undergraduate research in seven areas, including medical genetics, atomic physics, computer science and physical chemistry.

What made that all the more remarkable was that she excelled at a young age in science and engineering, "high-pressured disciplines" where female students are underrepresented, Lazowska said.

While she "certainly noticed I was the only female in my physics course," Brunskill had only good things to say about her experience at the UW.

She became hooked on computer science after her first class because it is "very logical, very systematic and has room for creativity."

For her senior project in computer science, she created a prototype of a system that could recognize images -- in this case, the gloved hand signs of someone communicating via American Sign Language -- and translate it into characters.

Brunskill is interested in studying artificial intelligence and wants her research to have "a social bent."

Last year, she was one of two national runners-up in the Computer Research Association's Outstanding Undergraduate competition.

That Brunskill didn't win was "a rip-off," groused Lazowska, current board chair of the association. (This year, recent UW graduate Kevin Zatloukal was one of two winners, and UW students Steve Zhang and Matt Rosencrantz received honorable mentions.)

Among Brunskill's national awards was a Goldwater scholarship, given to outstanding students in math, the natural sciences and engineering. She previously did an internship at the European Center for Particle Physics in Geneva, studied French at the Sorbonne, is active in Amnesty International and rowed competitively at the UW and at MIT. She enjoys listening to Ani DiFranco, Tori Amos and U2.

UW President Richard McCormick called Brunskill "a Renaissance person," someone who seized the opportunities available to her.

Brunskill was among 32 Americans chosen earlier in December for the Rhodes scholarships, which provides for two or three years of study at Oxford. Winners are selected on academic achievement, personal integrity, unselfishness, potential for leadership and physical vigor.

She isn't even the only scholar in her family. Sister Amelia, 18, a senior majoring in art and psychology, started college at 14, also through the UW's Early Entrance Program. Amelia has been named a Mary Gates Scholar, a UW undergraduate research award.

"We gave them a lot of space. Both are very organized with their time. We never had to say, 'Do your homework,' " said their mother, Clare Brunskill, a first-grade teacher in the Edmonds School District.

Their father, Andrew Brunskill, a medical director for the Washington State Health Care Authority, also downplayed his role.

"We're delighted and amazed by what they did," he said. "We try to support them and stay out of the way."

P-I assistant metro editor John Iwasaki can be reached at 206-448-8096 or johniwasaki@seattle-pi.com