Malcolm Beasley, dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences, and Laura Selznick, director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities program, announced Class of 1999 recipients of the Firestone Medal for Excellence in Undergraduate Research and the Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in Humanities and Creative Arts.
The Firestone award recognizes students undertaking honors projects in the social, physical and natural sciences, nominated by their academic programs or departments. The Golden award similarly distinguishes students completing honors projects in the humanities or creative projects in the fine arts. The medalists each received an engraved bronze medal, citation and check at an awards ceremony held June 12 in Campbell Recital Hall.
The awardees, their hometowns, departments or programs, projects and faculty sponsors follow:
Robert M. Golden Medals for Excellence in Humanities and Creative Arts
Alejandro Santos Amezcua; Santa Ana, Calif.; comparative studies in race and ethnicity, and anthropology; "Latina/o Transgenderism: The Reconfiguration of Sex/Gender Dimorphism"; Nicholas DeGenova, cultural and social anthropology.
Jerome Bradford Anderson; Framingham, Mass.; comparative literature; "An Aristocracy of Readers: Canon Formation in Joris-Karl Huysmans' A rebours"; Joshua Landy, French and Italian.
Max Jay Erdstein; Cape Coral, Fla.; history; "London Transported: Art, Industry, and Modernism"; Paul Seaver, history.
Renée Allyson Fox; Chatsworth, Calif.; English; "Empires of the Imagination: Egypt and Fin de Siècle Fictions of Imperialism"; Suvir Kaul, English.
Jeff Goldman; Tiburon, Calif.; history; "Voting for Death: How Capital Punishment Became a Political Issue in America, 1950-1988"; David Kennedy, history.
Geoffrey David Koops; Winchester, Mass.; art and art history; "Artistic Creation in Art"; Kristina Branch, art and art history.
Noam Leslau; Frankfurt am Main, Germany; history and economics; "Conflict of Nations: A Discourse Analysis Limpieza de Sangre, Medieval Communities, and the Emergence of a Spanish National Identity"; Kathryn Miller, history.
Joya Elizabeth Martuscello; Burlingame, Calif.; drama; "Artistic Creation in Drama."
John Anthony Maurer IV; St. Louis, Mo.; music; "Artistic Creation in Music"; Christopher Chafe, music.
Masum Hemendra Momaya; Elgin, Ill.; public policy and feminist studies; "Taking Her Place in the Global Economy"; Susan Okin, political science.
Michelle Rae Feng-Jiao Tung; Hong Kong; art with honors in humanities special programs; "Technology Transformation: The Anime Cyberbabe"; Alice Rayner, drama.
Allison Elizabeth Twist; San Marino, Calif.; American studies; "Lady Lindy Lives: Revisiting Images of Amelia Earhart"; Joseph Corn, history.
Seth Andrew Weisburst; West Hartford, Conn.; English and art history with honors in humanities special programs; "Confronting the Nightmare of Dresden: History and Deception in Kurt Vonnegut's Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, and Slaughterhouse Five"; William Solomon, English.
Anna Yusim; Wheeling, Ill.; biological sciences with honors in ethics and society; "The Limits of Responsibility and the Inadequacy of the Desert: A Philosophical Quest for Justice in Health Care"; Lori Gruen, philosophy.
Firestone Medals for Excellence in Undergraduate Research
Kasey Elisabeth Barton; Silverthorne, Colo.; biological sciences; "Niche Partitioning and Competition in Two Ant Communities"; Deborah Gordon, biological sciences.
Aaron Stephen Bernstein; Wilmette, Ill.; human biology; "Depression, Immunity and Bereavement in Spouses of Advanced Cancer Patients"; David Spiegel, psychiatry and behavioral sciences.
Boris Bershteyn; Campbell, Calif.; economics and political science; "Judicial Precedent and External Influences in the United States Supreme Court: A Study of Predatory Pricing Cases"; Gregory Rosston, economics and public policy.
Taylor Chase Boas; Atlanta; international relations and Latin American studies; "www.cubalibre.cu? Transnational Networking and the Impact of the Internet on Non-Democratic Rule"; Terry Karl, political science.
Paul Bodnar; Cliffside Park, N.J.; political science; "Institutional Design and the Politics of Uncertainty: Case Studies in East European Democratization"; Coit Blacker, Institute for International Studies.
Rachel Michel Brunette; Monroe, Wis.; East Asian studies; "Dekasegi Nikkeijin: Reflections on Japanese Immigration Policy and the Return Migration of Japanese Latin Americans"; Peter Duus, history.
Jennifer Lyn Gera; Carmichaels, Pa.; sociology; "Work Requirements and Welfare Reform: Assumptions, Implementation, and the Effect on Persistent Poverty"; Susan Olzak, sociology.
Peter Seth Hammerman; San Francisco; biological sciences and history; "Discovery of a Primate Model for Cystic Fibrosis"; Jeffrey Wine, psychology.
Hugh Edward Handeyside; Frankenmuth, Mich.; international relations; "U.S. Democracy Assistance Organizations in Post-Cold War Russia"; Michael McFaul and Ron Jepperson, political science and sociology.
Todd Michael Herrington; Irvine, Calif.; biological sciences; "Control of Spore Differentiation in Myxococcus xanthus"; Dale Kaiser, biochemistry.
Annalise Noelle Husen; Seattle; physics; "The Current Levels and Conductance of the Voltage-Gated K Channel G87R from Squid Stellate Ganglion"; William F. Gilly, biological sciences (Hopkins Marine Station).
Michelle Margaret Jewett; Pennington, N.J.; public policy and sociology; "Stability in Income Inequality in the Former German Democratic Republic Following Reunification"; Geoffrey Rothwell, economics and public policy.
Peter Matthews Kasson; Chapel Hill, N.C.; individually designed major: chemical and computational biophysics; "Rates of Peptide Association to the Class II MHC Molecule I-Ek"; Robert Simoni, biological sciences.
Theodore Leng; Caldwell, N.J.; philosophy and biological sciences; "Capillary Electrophoresis Coupled with RBL-2H3 Cells as a Single-Cell Biosensor"; Richard Zare, chemistry.
Kalee Geiderman Magnani; Rockville, Md.; human biology and psychology; "Are Developmental Changes in the Speed and Accuracy of Word Recognition Related to Vocabulary Growth?" Anne Fernald, psychology.
Kristen Eleanor Mann; Lexington, Mass.; anthropological sciences with honors in education; "A Comparative Case Study of Factors Affecting Language Policy Discourse in Kenya and Tanzania"; Karen Mundy, education.
Amy Francesca Perfors; Montrose, Colo.; symbolic systems; "Slow and Steady Doesn't Win the Race: The Relation of Infant Information Processing Skills to Later Linguistic Performance"; Anne Fernald, psychology.
Danielle Andrea Rees; Atherton, Calif.; psychology and human biology; "Coping Styles and Defenses of Male and Female College Students: A Longitudinal Study on Substance Use and Eating-Disordered Behaviors"; Laura Carstensen, psychology.
Uma Sanghvi; Arlington, Va.; biological sciences; "Assessing Potential Risk Factors for Child Malnutrition in Rural Kerala, India"; Walter Falcon, Institute for International Studies.
Andrei Dumitru Sdrulla; Bend, Ore.; biological sciences; "Control of Oligodendrocyte Differentiation by an Id Protein"; Ben Barres, neurobiology.
Seamus John Smyth; Baton Rouge, La.; economics, and mathematics and computational sciences; "The Robustness and Efficiency of Monetary Policy Rules in Open Economies with Perfect Capital Mobility"; John Taylor, economics.
Aparajita Sohoni; San Francisco; human biology; "Addressing the Physiological and Social Implications of Leprosy: A Case Study
Analysis on an NGO's Method for Holistic Patient Rehabilitation"; Clifford Barnett, anthropological sciences.
Vivian Tsai; Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.; human biology;"Downregulation of BCL-2 Using Antisense Oligodeoxynucleotides
Sensitizes Human Uterine Sarcoma Cells to Paclitaxel (Taxol(r))"; Branimir Sikic, medicine (oncology).
Nikolas I. Wada; San Francisco; earth systems with honors through the Institute for International Studies Goldman Honors Program; "The Impact of El Niño on the World Fishmeal Market"; Rosamund Naylor, Institute for International Studies.
Rachel Margaret Wong;
Chandler, Ariz.; human biology; "Cultural Preservation Efforts in
Two Tibetan Children's Homes"; Hill Gates, anthropological
sciences. SR