Texas Instruments presents Junkins Scholarships

DALLAS, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas Instruments chairman, president and CEO, Rich Templeton, presented scholarships of $4,000 each to 21 National Merit Scholars at a luncheon on April 25 at the company's headquarters in Dallas. The Jerry R. Junkins Memorial Merit Scholarships, named in honor of TI's former chairman, president and CEO, are awarded to National Merit Program finalists who are sons or daughters of active, retired or deceased TI employees.

"The academic achievements of the Junkins Scholarship winners will lead them to great success in college and beyond. And their intelligence, energy and sense of goodwill give us great hope for the future of our industry, nation and society as a whole," said Templeton.

The 17 North Texas students who were honored for their academic accomplishments this year are:

Ryan G. Avery of Dallas, Newman Smith High School in Carrollton; Korok Chatterjee of Plano, Texas Academy of Math and Science in Denton; Nathan C. Graham of Denton, home-schooled; Wilson W. "Willy" Gu of Plano, Plano Senior High School; Thuy-Vy "Vivian" Ho of Highland Village, Edward S. Marcus High School of Flower Mound; Aasheesh Kanwar of Plano, Plano Senior High School; Helen C. Kerwin of Plano, Plano East Senior High School; Thomas R. Krenik of Garland, Texas Academy of Math and Science; Theresa R. Lii of Plano, Plano Senior High School; Rohan V. Menon of Dallas, Greenhill School in Addison; Andrew J. Mueller of Dallas, Highland Park High School; Stephanie M. Pan of Plano, Texas Academy of Math and Science; Sandhya Ramesh of Plano, Plano Senior High School; Aritra Sen of Plano, Texas Academy of Math and Science; Kevin H. Ting of Carrollton, Newman Smith High School; Daniel M. Valella of Dallas, St. Mark's School of Texas; and Michael Z. Yu of Plano, Plano West Senior High School.

The two honorees from the Houston area include Kate L. Sutton of Missouri City who attends Elkins High School, and Eric W. Zhang of Missouri City, who attends Dulles High School in Sugarland.

Another honoree is Jin Zhang of Tucson, Arizona, who attends University High School, and one honoree is from Minnesota -- Steven J. Shonts of Eden Prairie, Eden Prairie High School.

Each year, less than one percent of high school seniors nationwide achieve the status of National Merit Scholarship Program Semifinalist. Students are selected for the awards based on their scores on the 2007 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT), grades, leadership abilities, writing skills, extracurricular activities and potential for success in rigorous college studies.

"This year's Junkins Scholarship winners are truly remarkable," Templeton said. "One has filed a patent, and another started his own business. Another has been published. Several are multilingual, and all are active in their schools and communities. They plan to study fields as varied as engineering, biochemistry, international relations and economics. They will be our future physicians, scientists and leaders."

TI funds the scholarships in partnership with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a private, not-for-profit organization.

Note to editor: Following is a listing of the honorees by region, high school and school district (where applicable):

NORTH TEXAS Edward S. Marcus High School, Lewisville ISD Thuy-Vy "Vivian" Ho of Highland Village Greenhill School Rohan V. Menon of Dallas Highland Park High School, Highland Park ISD Andrew J. Mueller of Dallas Newman Smith High School, Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD Ryan G. Avery of Dallas Kevin H. Ting of Carrollton Plano East Senior High School, Plano ISD Helen C. Kerwin of Plano Plano Senior High School, Plano ISD Wilson W. Gu of Plano Aasheesh Kanwar of Plano Theresa R. Lii of Plano Sandhya Ramesh of Plano Plano West Senior High School, Plano ISD Michael Z. Yu of Plano St. Mark's School of Texas Daniel M. Valella of Dallas Texas Academy of Math and Science, Denton Korok Chatterjee of Plano Thomas R. Krenik of Garland Stephanie M. Pan of Plano Aritra Sen of Plano Home-schooled Nathan C. Graham of Denton HOUSTON AREA, TEXAS Dulles High School, Fort Bend ISD Eric W. Zhang of Missouri City Elkins High School, Fort Bend ISD Kate L. Sutton of Missouri City TUCSON, ARIZONA University High School, Tucson Unified School District Jin Zhang of Tucson, Arizona MINNEAPOLIS AREA, MINNESOTA Eden Prairie High School, Eden Prairie Schools Steven J. Shonts of Eden Prairie About Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments helps customers solve problems and develop new electronics that make the world smarter, healthier, safer, greener and more fun. A global semiconductor company, TI innovates through manufacturing, design and sales operations in more than 25 countries. For more information, go to http://www.ti.com/.

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