Assistant Professor of Economics Brian J. Hall, Gell's thesis advisor, hired Gell sophomore year as a research assistant.

"While [Jeff] was working for me, he was busy getting straight A's in all of his classes. Then, of course, he wrote a summa thesis," Hall said in an e-mail message. "What can I say--he is clever, insightful, creative and insanely responsible."

John Gilbert, Gell's high school advisor and French teacher, referred to his former pupil as "quite an amazing yound man," noting that Gell had the highest grade point average in his class--and in the school's history.

Gell was "well-liked" in high school, Gilbert said. "People respected his brains."

"He has the kind of smarts you can't study for," said Vera Gell of her son. "He's always been destined for greatness."

Although she said she is not sure of her son's future plans, Gell's mother said she wouldn't be surprised if she were frequenting the White House in a few decades.

"If he were interested in politics, I could see him becoming the first Jewish president. But, you know what? He's not crooked enough," she chuckled. "If they were looking for someone who was brilliant and honest, he'd be perfect."

Gell laughed after hearing his mother's vision. "There's not enough money in that," he quipped.

"I always wanted him ot join the Rabbinate," said Gell;s clergyman, Rabbi M. Robert Syme of Temple Israel. "His brilliance of mind is accompanied by a beauty of character."

A Marshall Scholar, Gell will be studying economics at Oxford for the next two years, deferring enrollment to Harvard law School.

Pforzheimer House resident Aaron B. Brown will be heading in the other direction next year--Literally.

A computer science concentrator, Brown has accepted a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship and will pursue a PhD at Berkeley in the fall.

Brown's thesis advisor Margo I. Seltzer, assistant professor of computer science, said "his academic record--and what's not reflected in the record--is all great."

Seltzer and Brown presented a paper together at the 1997 ACM Sigmetrics Conference in Seattle--an international scholarly gathe3ring--a few weeks ago.

Originally an advanced standing student, Brown ultimately decided to spend eight semesters at the College.