Several students won major national academic honors
this spring:
Mark Hoffman, a junior mechanical engineering major, won a Goldwater Scholarship for 2002-2003. A total of 1,155 students from colleges and universities across the country were nominated, and scholarships were awarded to 309-only twenty-seven of them majoring in engineering. Mark, a native of Petersburgh, N.Y., is planning to pursue a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and a research career in automotive design. A Union Scholar, he has designed and built a large-scale model of a medieval trebuchet, analyzing the components to maximize throwing distance, and this spring he applied his design and manufacturing skills to produce a rear suspension for the College's entry in the Society for Automotive Engineers Mini Baja car competition.
Maureen Farrell, a senior majoring in English and women's studies, received a Fulbright Scholarship for a year of university study in Finland. She plans to examine how American feminist ideals intersect with those articulated in Finland, which has passed “women friendly” legislation providing affordable and accessible health care and child care. She says her research will address what changes from the Finnish model can realistically be made in the United States. She is a native of Shelton, Conn., and won the Phi Beta Kappa Award in general education, the English Department's Hale Prize for non-fiction, the David Brind Memorial Prize in English, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Jeff Newhouse, a junior majoring in history, was one of twenty winners nationally of a Beinecke Scholarship. He is the first Union student to win a Beinecke, which supports outstanding undergraduates in the humanities and social sciences in their pursuit of a Ph.D. and a career in higher education. The scholarship carries an award of $32,000. Newhouse plans to earn a Ph.D. in American history, focusing on twentieth-century social history, and then wants to teach at a small, liberal arts college. His knack for historical research was noticed by Professor of History Andy Feffer, who asked him for assistance in researching incidents of racial violence in twentieth-century Philadelphia.
A variety of other
honors and awards went
to the following:
Melissa Lesmeister '04, a civil engineering student, was the first prize winner of the student competition for the St. Lawrence section of the American Society for Engineering Education. Her project was titled “Effect of Ultra- violet Exposure on Rubberized Concrete.”
Megann Denefrio '03 and her little sister in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program were named “Match of the Year” for the Capital District region.
David Cotter, assistant professor of sociology, received the Faculty Community Service Award from the Hudson Mohawk Association of Colleges and Universities. He was recognized for leading his students in a nine-month study of hunger in Schenectady County-a study that provided valuable data to a number of social service agencies. The study was commissioned by the Council of Community Services of New York State.
Union took several honors at the regional student conference of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering.
David Chapin '02 won the oral presentation award and an invitation to compete for the national prize,
Ben Gauthier '02 took second in the oral presentation and first place for best technical content,
Jeremy Losaw '02 took first prize in the technical poster competition,
Matthew Grant '02 received a certificate for outstanding student chapter president, and Professor
Frank Wicks received a certificate for services in advancing the engineering profession. The region includes about forty-five engineering programs in the mid-Atlantic states.