2017-2018 Thesis Prize Winners
David M. Kennedy Honors Thesis Prizes
Engineering & Applied Sciences: William Kuszmaul, Computer Science. On String-Similarity Estimation Problems. Mentored by Moses Charikar.
Arts & Humanities: Carrie Monahan, American Studies. “A Dream Remembered”: Collective Memory and Ancestral Responsibility in Eufala, Alabama. Mentored by Allyson Hobbs and Michele Elam
Natural Sciences: Huy Pham, Mathematics. Popular Progression Differences and Variants. Mentored by Jacob Fox
Social Sciences: Laura Zhang, Economics. Income Segregation and Intergenerational Mobility. Evidence from U.S. Highways. Mentored by Rebecca Diamond
Firestone Medals for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
Mireille Bejjani, Biology. Developing Sense of Place in USA Zoos: Effect of Featuring Local Versus Exotic Species. Mentored by Rodolfo Dirzo
Alexandra Bourdillon, Biomedical Computation. Lessons from Deep Learning on the Cutting Edge: Integrating Reinforcement Learning Tools with Particle Graphic Simulation. Mentored by Joseph Woo.
Qitong Cao, Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). The China Wide Web: The Information Dilemma and the Domestication of Cyberspace. Mentored by Larry Diamond and Avidit Acharya
Michael Chen, Chemistry. The Neurobiology of Thirst Motivational Drive. Mentored by Liqun Luo, Karl Deisseroth, and Richard Zare
Samuel Garcia, International Relations. Diplomatic Breakthrough: Politics, Reform, and Trust in the Restoration of US-Cuba Relations. Mentored by Beatriz Magaloni
Janna Huang, Science, Technology, & Society. A Break in the Cloud: Finding the Local in the Global Internet. Mentored by Paul Edwards.
Joyce Kang, Computer Science. Real Cloud Sequencing Elucidates Microbiome Dynamics in a Stem Cell Transplant Patient. Mentored by Ami Bhatt and Anshul Kundaje
Elise Kostial, Political Science. Time Heals All: Timing and Competitiveness of Primary Elections. Mentored by Andy Hall
Kristin McIntire, Human Biology. A Meta-Analysis of Survival Trends in Glioblastoma Patients Treated With Temozolomide/Radiation Therapy From 2005-2017: Evidence for the Benefit of Additional Study Agents. Mentored by Albert Wong and Paul Fisher
Joriene Mercado, Education. Know History, Know Self, Know Mental Health: Using a Decolonization Framework to Educate Filipino-American High School Students About Mental Health. Mentored by Teresa LaFramboise
Kira Morgan Oskirko, Psychology. Examining Sex-Specific Effects of Puberty on White Matter Microstructure. Mentored by Ian Gotlib
Courtney Pal, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE). Development and Displacement in West Harlem: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of the Columbia-Manhattanville Community Benefits Agreement. Mentored by Jackelyn Hwang
Kaileen Pritchard, Center for International Security & Cooperation (CISAC). Pushing Peace: The Relationship between the Taliban’s Strength and Its Openness to
Negotiations. Mentored by Kenneth Schultz
Jeremy Quach, Education. Cultivating Upstanding Democratic Citizens in the English Classroom: Reader-Response and Teaching the Conflicts Pedagogies. Mentored by Sarah Levine and John Willinsky
Roger K. Romani, Physics. Single Charge Sensitive High Voltage Phonon Detectors: Development and Application to the search for Dark Matter. Mentored by Blas Cabrera and Betty Young
Ada Statler, Earth Systems. Towns in Transition: Kern County, CA as a Case Study for Justice Considerations in Decarbonization. Mentored by Bruce Cain.
Rachel Steiner, Psychology. Blast-induced Brain Injury: A Neurological Gateway to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Mentored by Jeffrey Wine.
Ethan W. Sussman, Physics. N=4 Compactifications of String Theory and Supergravity. Mentored by Shamit Kachru
Daylon Tippett, Symbolic Systems. Testing Theories of Forgetting: The Effect of Memory Suppression Strategies on Associative Memory. Mentored by Anthony Wagner and Jiefeng Jiang
Alan Wei, Biology. Neuronal Expression of the MHCI Qa-1 and Its Role in Activity-Dependent Plasticity. Mentored by Carla Shatz
Sophia Xiao, Biology. Role of CD47 in Clonal Expansion of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis. Mentored by Nicholas Leeper
Amy Xu, Human Biology. The Role of USP16 Modulation and Wnt Signaling Upregulation in the Alleviation of Motor Deficits Associated with Down Syndrome. Mentored by Craig Heller and Dennis Grahn
Sophia Zhang, Biology. Modeling Cardiac Dysfunction Associated with Mutation in N-alpha-Acetyltransferase 10 (NAA10) in Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes. Mentored by Joseph Wu
Robert M. Golden Medals for Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts
Sojourner Ahebee, African and African-American Studies (AAAS). The Last Place They Thot Of & Other Poems. Mentored by Allyson Hobbs and Peggy Phelan
Calvin Baker, Ethics in Society. Buddhist Wellbeing and Population Ethics. Mentored by Juliana Bidadanure and Paul Harrison
Matthew Frankel, Division of Literatures, Cultures, and Languages (DLCL). Invisible Freedom: Revealing Commitment as Radical. Mentored by Hans Ulrich Gumbrecht and Joan Ramon Resina
Nathan Large, Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS). Acting & Theater-Making. Mentored by Janice Ross
Hannah Levy, Stanford Arts Institute. Being With. Mentored by Lisa Medoff, Alex Ketley, and Peggy Phelan
Heath Rojas, History. The Power of the Executive: Redefining Monarchial Authority in the First Three Years of the French Revolution. Mentored by Keith Baker and Dan Edelstein
Daniel Trunzo, English. “What right had Caesar to the empery?”: Power and the Individual in Plays of Christopher Marlowe. Mentored by Roland Greene and Patricia Parker
Madeleine Weiss, Stanford Arts Institute. Being With. Mentored by Lisa Medoff, Alex Ketley, and Peggy Phelan
Nora Wheat, Art and Art History. People as Practice. Mentored by Gail Wight and Terry Berlier
Matthew Yellowtail, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE). Medicine Boy. Mentored by Jennifer Brody and Jeff Chang