PHILADELPHIA – University of Pennsylvania senior Alexander Jacobs has been selected to receive a 2009 Gates Cambridge Scholarship. He becomes the 16th Penn student to win the award since it was established in 2001.

Jacobs, of New York City, will graduate from Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences with a major in history. He will begin graduate studies at the University of Cambridge in England in October, pursuing an MPhil in history, philosophy and sociology of science, technology and medicine.

Outside the classroom, Jacobs has long been involved in journalism, most recently as a reporter and fact-checker for the New York Observer and as an editor and features writer for 34th Street magazine of The Daily Pennsylvanian, the Penn student newspaper.

In applying for the award, Alexander worked with Penn’s Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, which is directed by Harriet Joseph.

Jacobs is among 37 U.S. students awarded Gates Cambridge Scholarships this year. For the October 2009 Cambridge entry, 752 U.S. students applied.

Additional information about the Gates Cambridge Scholarship program is available at www.gatesscholar.org including the 2008 Yearbook profiling all the Gates Scholars currently studying at Cambridge.