University of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
601 S. Morgan St., Chicago, IL 60607-7113, (312) 996-3456, www.uic.edu/depts/paff

December 11, 2000

Contact:Amanda Mazur (312) 996-7681; amazur@uic.edu

UIC STUDENT NAMED RHODES SCHOLAR

University of Illinois at Chicago student Rudyard Sadleir was awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship for study at the University of Oxford. He is the first UIC student to be selected for this honor.

"We are really proud of Rudyard," said Lansine Kaba, dean of the Honors College. "We are truly delighted."

Sadleir is an Honors College senior majoring in environmental geology. He originally planned on graduating with a degree in anthropology, but a geology class he took in UIC's earth and environmental sciences department changed that plan. That course opened up the door to what eventually became Sadleir's true passion-the prehistory of life.

"I went to UIC because it was the only institution I could afford and it was in Chicago," said Sadleir. "It's an amazing university that offers so many opportunities to people who want to make the most of them."

Although "college graduate" will not appear on his resume until May, Sadleir has already amassed an impressive list of accomplishments. Since 1997, he has been a part of the University of Chicago Expedition to Niger under the guidance of Paul Sereno.

In 1998, Sadleir was asked to be a part of Smithsonian Summer Research Training Program. He has also presented his research on theropod teeth at two annual meetings of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontologists and is the co-author of two articles that have appeared in Science magazine.

Sadleir has conducted fieldwork in Illinois, Missouri, England, Canada and the Republic of Niger. He has received numerous awards and scholarships including being named a 1999-2001 Barry M. Goldwater Scholar in Mathematics, Science and Engineering.

Sadleir, whose interests include both biology and geology says, "I'm most interested in the avenues of prehistoric biology-how life has changed, what caused it to change and what, if any, laws things are evolving by."

Despite his extremely full academic life, Sadleir still finds time for volunteering and teaching children about science. He is part of Project Exploration, an educational organization dedicated to making paleontology and natural science available to city children, and a volunteer at the Field Museum of Natural History.

A member of UIC's rugby team since 1995, Sadleir is a five-time Illinois speed skating champion and enjoys photography, rock climbing and sea kayaking.

Sadleir was one of 32 U.S. students to be named a Rhodes Scholar. While at Oxford, he plans to study paleobiology and attain a master's of science by research in science.

A resident of Park Ridge, Sadleir attended Maine South Township High School.

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