Posted on May 2, 2008

Academic Awards

Arts and Humanities

William F. Allen (1895) Essay Prize –
To a senior in any department for a non-fiction essay
– Carly Chasin

Ronald K. Amiraian (1980) Memorial Prize –
To a student of modern languages who has performed with distinction on a Union Term Abroad
– Anthony Fine

Andrew W. Archibald (1872) Prize –
To the senior in humanities with the highest scholastic standing
– Carly Chasin

Arnold I. Bittleman Memorial Prize –
To a student who has studied drawing in the Department of Visual Arts whose work has been judged outstanding
– Niels Olsen

William H. Bloom (1945), M.D., and Jonathan R. Bloom (1988) Poetry Prize –
For the best poem or series of poems by Union undergraduates
– Sarah Samson, Corinne Simisky

David Brind (1982) Memorial Prize in English –
To one or more outstanding senior students in English
– Carly Chasin, Rachael Federico, Kevin Siedlecki

Frankel Prize –
Awarded for outstanding academic achievement in a religion course
– Zachary Barash

Hans Hainebach Memorial Prize in German Literature –
To a sophomore or junior who has demonstrated particular promise as a student of German literature
– Gina Chiuminatto

Hans Hainebach Memorial Endowed Prize –
To the student who has offered the best performance in the field of Judaica
– Kristin Hissong

Edward Everett Hale, Jr. Prize –
For the best essay written by a sophomore or junior
– Cara Gallivan

Victor Herbert Prize –
To the student who shows the most promise of contributing to American music
– Richard Moccia, Elizabeth Ruddle, Kevin Siedlecki

John Iwanik Prize –
To one or more students for outstanding study of the Russian language
– Elizaveta Saguirian

Thomas J. Judson (1966) Memorial Book Prize –
To a sophomore who, in the opinion of the Department of Modern Languages, has shown academic excellence as well as sincere interest in the study of Modern Langauges
– Marissa Gaines

Harold A. Larrabee Prize –
To one or more students who have done the best work in philosophy
– Hyma Kavuri

Minerva Prize –
To the student who best combines the scholarly study of women or gender with activities that enhance the life of women on campus
– Kaitlin Canty

Robert G. O’Neale (1926) Prize –
To the A.B. candidate with the highest standing in classics
– Allison Baum

President’s Commission on the Status of Women Senior Scholarly Activity Award –
To the senior student who displays outstanding scholarly activity in her field
– Kaitlin Canty, Erica Erlanger

Mrs. Edwin L. Rich Prize –
To a student majoring in English who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship
– Carly Chasin

Charles Alexander Richmond Prizes –
Two, one for excellence in the fine arts, the other for excellence in the appreciation of music
– Fine Arts
– Rachel Start; Music
– Andrew Trelease

Daniel Shocket (1972) Memorial Scholarship–
To a student majoring in English with a strong interest in creative writing
–Sarah Samson

Aime Simon (1991) Term Abroad Prize –
To a student of high academic standing and promise with a strong interest in study abroad
– Katrina Neiley

Milton Hymes Sternfeld (1916) Prize –
To the best original essay in philosophy by a member of the senior class
– William Fitzsimons

Wessel Ten Broeck Van Orden (1839) Prize –
To a freshman excelling in English composition
– Deirdre Finnegan, Sarah O’Connor

Eugene I. Yudis (1955) Prize –
To the student in any class who has produced the best piece of prose fiction
– Ian Clemente, Clare Stone

Phi Beta Kappa (1817) Awards –
To juniors and seniors of academic distinction who are candidates for the B.A. or general B.S. degree. The Union College chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of New York, was established in 1817 and is the fifth oldest in the country

Senior class: Gregory Anastasio, Benjamin Bauer,
Allison Baum, Richard Bonventre, Daniel Butensky,
Kaitlin Canty, Carly Chasin, Jennifer Dalenta,
Joshua DeBartolo, Cassandra Denefrio,
Erica Erlanger, Rachael Federico, Hilary Handin,
Claire Hendry, Naazia Husain, Syed Hussnain,
Dionna Kasper, Michelle Koo, Andrew Laccetti,
Emily Laing, Kate Langwig, Richard Leahy,
Bilal Mahmood, Sara Melton, Ali Qureshi,
Jacquelyn Raftery, Jessica Rudin, Carol Shotzbarger,
David Shulman, Amanda Slowik, Rachel Start,
John Traver, Stephen Walker, Lauren Youngman

Junior Class: Cathryn Cook, Steve Herron

Social Sciences

Joseph D. Doty Prize –
To a junior or senior who, in the judgment of the Department of History, has done work of outstanding merit
– Stephanie Berlind, Henry Sire

Oswald Heck (1924) –
Irwin Steingut Prize –
To the student majoring in the Division of Social Sciences who has consistently done the best work in political science
– Kaitlin Canty

Albert C. Ingham (1847) Prize –
To the student in the Division of Social Sciences judged to have done the most outstanding piece of scholarly work
– Naazia Husain

David S. Kaplan (1982) Memorial Prize –
To one or more students of merit in political science who are participating in a term abroad program
– Katrina Neiley

Anthony C. LaVecchia (1998) Memorial Award –
To a student who demonstrates a keen interest in journalism (with a focus on political journalism) and participates in charitable work
– John Tomlin

Lewis Henry Morgan (1840) Prize –
To the anthropology major who produces the best senior thesis
–Sara Melton

Alvin F. Nitchman (1924) Prize –
To a political science major preparing for law school who exhibits outstanding academic promise and character
–  Matthew Salla

Hans Pasch Memorial Prize –
Awarded for the best essays written by one or more Union students on the Holocaust
– Seth Weinberg

Elias Peissner Prize –
To an economics major who, in the judgment of the Department of Economics, has done work of outstanding merit
– Courtney Chais

President’s Commission on the Status of Women Senior Thesis Prize –
To one or more students whose senior thesis makes the greatest contribution to scholarship on women
– Carly Chasin, Jennifer Dalenta 

Rotary Foundation Endowed Prize for International Study –
To the senior showing the greatest promise and interest in international relations
– Gregory Anastasio

Freling H. Smith (1865) Prize –
For the best senior thesis in the Department of History
– Hilary Handin

Roger Thayer Stone (1928) Prize –
To the student who has written the best senior theses in sociology
– Naazia Husain

Mildred Wilder Prize –
To the senior majoring in political science who, in the opinion of the political science faculty, has written the best piece of scholarly work pertaining to the subject of women and politics
– Stephanie Cannuli

Natural Sciences

Division of Analytical Chemistry of the

American Chemical Society Award –
To a student who has excelled in analytical chemistry
– Christopher Backlund

Samuel S. Feuer (1925) Prize –
To the senior in the premedical course (whose primary interest is dentistry) who has maintained the highest scholastic average over four years
– Daniel Butensky

Robert M. Fuller (1863) Prize –
To the senior in chemistry whose standing has been of high grade and who has shown unusual ability in original experimental work
– Monica Tse

To the sophomore whose work for the first two years in the Chemistry Department has given the greatest promise for a successful career in that subject
– Paul Hebert

Bruce M. Garber (1971) Prize –
To the premedical or predental student who best exemplifies the qualities of personal integrity and humane concern for the future practice of medicine or dentistry
– David Shulman

Lisa S. Gerhan (1994) Memorial Award –
For academic excellence, a commitment to the field of psychology, and the potential for future contributions to the field
– Jacquelyn Raftery

Eugene W. Hellmich (1923) Memorial Prize –
To one or more seniors for excellence in mathematics preparing for a career in teaching mathematics

Charles B. Hurd Prize –
To a student pursuing a course in physical chemistry
– Amanda Barrow

William E. Lasnik (1968) Prize –
To a junior or senior premedical student demonstrating outstanding character and scholarship
– David Shulman

Stephen F. Leo (1884), M.D., Prize –
To the premedical student who has attained the highest grades in the graduating class and who has been accepted into medical school
– Ali Qureshi

Edith Emilee MacCoy Prize –
To a student who excels in botany
– Emily Follansbee

John Lewis March Prize –
To the senior who has shown increased interest and ability in psychology during his or her final two years in the College
– Natasha Ludwig

Harold and Ellen Nagorsky Memorial Prize –
To the premedical student who is in the junior class and contributes the most to the Union College community through extracurricular activities
– Emma Labrot, Sade Mckenzie

Ronald M. Obenzinger (1961) Prize –
To one or more premedical students who are selected for high academic merit and personal worthiness
– Syed Hussnain, Bilal Mahmood

Psi Chi Service Award –
To an outstanding student majoring in psychology who has contributed to the goals and aims of Psi Chi, the national psychology honorary society
– Michelle Koo

Martin Terry Resch Prize –
To a senior showing the greatest promise in the study of pure or applied mathematics
– Susan Beckhardt

Robert L. Royal (1938) Award –
To a deserving student who has been accepted by Albany Medical College
– Nirav Shah

Edward S.C. Smith Geology Prize –
To a senior, majoring in geology, who demonstrates high professional potential
– Erica Erlanger

Dr. Reuben Sorkin (1933) Award for Proficiency in Premedical Studies –
To a senior demonstrating proficiency in undergraduate studies with an outstanding aptitude for continuing work leading to a degree in medicine
– Ali Qureshi

James Henry Turnbull (1929) Prize –
To the outstanding students in the sophomore class in physics
– Brandon Bartell, Benjamin Miles

Lee and William Wrubel Memorial Prize –
To a senior preparing for dentistry or medicine, based upon academic achievement and character
– Syed Hussnain

Engineering

General Electric Power Generation Steinmetz Award –
To one or more students in mechanical engineering who complete the best senior projects
– Joseph Martel, Dean Pasquerella

Shankar Gokhale Prize –
To a senior in engineering, preferably in the five-year progam with the second major in economics, with the greatest potential for community service in mathematical approaches to economic problems
– Xiao Le Xie

John S. Hadala (1928) Endowed Book Prize –
To a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, foracademic, personal, and social achievement
– Joseph Martel

Ingvar V. Ingvarsson Prize –
To a senior in electrical engineering chosen by the department faculty for high scholarship
– Benjamin Bunes

Warner King (1906) Prize –
To the senior in engineering who has contributed most to the traditions and ideals of the College
– Benjamin Bunes

Ethel Kirchenbaum Memorial Prize –
To the senior with the best potential for furthering the ideals of the engineering profession
– Joseph Martel

Alice P. and Donald C. Loughry (1952) Prize  –
To one or more students who have produced the best senior projects in computer science, electrical engineering and computer engineering
– Benjamin Bunes(Elec. Eng.), Dana Cartwright (Comp. Sci.), Peter Katlic (Comp. Eng.)

R.E. Morgan Memorial Award –
To a senior computer science major, selected by the department, who has demonstrated outstanding scholarship
– Gregory Mahlum

Mortimer F. Sayre Prize –
To the senior with the best potential in furthering the ideals of the mechanical engineering profession
– Joseph Martel

Ralph W. Stearns (1907) Prize –
To the junior for ability to design and complete a new piece of teaching equipment
– Kathleen Rucci, Thomas DiLaura

Tau Beta Pi Awards –
To juniors and seniors who have achieved outstanding records in engineering studies and demonstrated excellence of character

Senior Class: Benjamin Bunes, Scott Carroll, 
Jeffrey Hutchison, Joseph Martel, Long Nguyen, Karl Okeson, Dean Pasquerella, Kyle Tilley, Caleb Wattley,
Alexander Weintraub, Charles Wood, Xiao Lee Xie

Junior Class: Michael Bono, John Boyle, Kevin Donovan, Andrew Heiser, Patrick Lingane, Andrew Mackenzie, Christopher Potts, Kathleen Rucci

George H. Williams Prize –
Awarded annually to a graduating senior for excellence in computer science
– Michael Donovan

College Service Awards

Wendy Bernstein (1980) Memorial Award –
To a sophomore for superior service to the College, awarded by the Student Forum members
– Ian Clemente

Alan Lake Chidsey (1925) Citizenship Award –
To a senior for distinctive contributions to the advancement of responsible government in student affairs
– Jessica Rudin

Class of 2001 Prize –
Awarded to two deserving undergraduate students in their junior year on the basis of academic, personal and extracurricular achievement and on his or her contributions to Union in all of these areas
– Vincent Chau, Karin Ente

Delphic Honor Society Awards –
To juniors and seniors for exemplary contribution to the Union College community

Senior Class: Na’eem Crawford-Muhammad, Aaron Davidowitz, Joshua DeBartolo, Elizabeth Johnson, Delon McAllister, Beamy Sharma, Stephen Walker, Charles Wood

Junior Class: Vincent Chau, Muhammad Djata, Jessica Handibode, Shanique Kerr, Jasmine Maldonado, Kara McCabe, Ariel Sincoff-Yedid, Kenneth Williams

Outstanding Greek Woman –
To the member of a sorority who has made an outstanding contribution to the sorority system at Union
– Kathleen Hurley

Joel A. Halpern (1961) Prize –
To one or more students in recognition of outstanding commitment and service to the community
– Ashley Banta, Meaghan Horton

Frederick B. Hawley, Jr., Memorial Award –
To the senior fraternity man who has made outstanding contributions in scholarship and student activities
– David Conelias

Meritorious Service Awards –
To seniors for service in any field above and beyond the normal requirements of duty, based on criteria established by the Student Forum, and voted by the Student Affairs Council
– Rian Cahill, Joshua DeBartolo, Naazia Husain, Joseph Martel, Stephen Po-Chedley, Jessica Rudin

President’s Commission on the Status of Women Community Service Award –
To one or more students who have devoted the most time and energy to furthering the cause of women at Union
– Jonathan Doucette, John Francis, Aria Walfrand

Resident Advisor Award –
To one or more resident advisors for outstanding service in the development of the residential community at Union
– Courtney Foster, Alexandra Gallagher

Calvin G. Schmidt (1951) Prize –
To a junior selected by the Student Forum who has contributed most to the development and improvement of student life on the Union College campus
– Shanique Kerr

J. Richard Shanebrook Prize –
Created from the gifts of Prof. J. Richard Shanebook in honor of his parents, John A. and Lois L. Shanebrook, to the student of any religious tradition who has contributed the most to the betterment of religious life on campus
– Varun Shetty

Unitas Diversity Leadership Award –
To the student who has made a significant contribution toward fostering diversity on campus
– Naazia Husain

David Wagenseil (1978) Memorial Award –
To a senior fraternity man for outstanding participation and leadership in intramural sports
– Alexander Carrese

Athletic Awards

Eastern College Athletic Conference Award of Merit –
To an athlete who has combined excellence on the fields of competition with excellence in the classroom and outstanding service to the College
– Rachel Ormsby, Michelle Rogers

William B. Jaffe (1926) Medal –
To the student chosen as the outstanding athlete of the year, taking into account the character and motivation of the individual in addition to athletic excellence
– Stanley Pietrak

William A. Pike (1960) Memorial Award –
To a junior for attitude, participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports
– Kevin Kewin

President’s Commission on the Status of Women Senior Athletic Award –
To the senior who has done the most to promote sports for women at Union
– Bridget Duffy

Robert M. Ridings Award –
To one or more seniors for their attitude, ability, participation and achievement in intercollegiate sports at Union College
– Caitlin Cuozzo, Keri Messa

Honor Awards

Julian B. Hoffman, M.D., Memorial Award –
To the student (preferably premedical) in the Department of Music for distinguished interest, devotion, and contribution to the arts and/or intellectual climate at Union College

To the student (preferably premedical) in the Department of Visual Arts for distinguished interest, devotion, and contribution to the visual arts and/or intellectual climate of Union College
– Andrew Laccetti (Music), Molly Freeman (Visual Arts)

Roger H. Hull Community Service Award –
To a senior who has rendered the most sustained service to the greater Schenectady community. This award honors a student who has initiated and/or actively engaged in an ongoing community service project
– Latoya Roper

Daniel F. Pullman Prizes –
Two, one to a senior of high scholastic standing in humanities, the other to a similar student in engineering
– Benjamin Bunes (Engineering), Jennifer Dalenta (Classics/Humanities)

Frances Travis Award –
To a student who is working his/her way through college and who has demonstrated unusual responsibility and self­ reliance
–Andrew Camden

Horatio G. Warner (1826) Prize –
To a senior of high personal character who has the highest scholastic standing in the bachelor of arts program
– Kaitlin Canty

George H. Catlin (1867) Prize –
To one or more liberal arts seniors with the highest scholastic record, deemed most promising for graduate study and eventual service in the field of college teaching
– Rachael Federico

Josephine Daggett Prize –
To the senior of the best character and conduct
– Naazia Husain

Frank Bailey (1885) Prize –
To the senior who has rendered the greatest service to the College in any field
– Stephen Po-Chedley

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Posted on May 2, 2008

Benjamin Miles ’10, dressed in a crisp white shirt, waited in the basement of Social Sciences with his parents, Suzanne and Cliff Miles of Mountain Lakes, N.J. A Physics and Mathematics Major, Miles would shortly be unveiling his “Physicaid,” a program to help make introductory physics courses more appealing to students who find the subject “scary, hard and boring.” In one hand, Miles clutched a white tie – he’d need it later, when he’d be doing the tango at the Nott.

Down the hall, meanwhile, Allison Perse ’08 was explaining the role of art in personal and ethnic identity, based on her work with an afterschool program at Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill Community Arts Center.

And Ross Wheeler ’08 stood with his father, Keith, who came from State College, Pa., to hear his son present on advanced rocket and aerospace technology in the mid-19^th century.      

Welcome to Steinmetz 2008, where Union students spent the day trumpeting their research, scholarship and creative pursuits in classrooms and performance spaces throughout campus.

About 400 students participated in the 18th annual research celebration, which began Friday.  

Ten students reported on their entrepreneurial efforts in everything from turbines to Italian wines: Brittany Adam ’08, Margaret Callahan ’09, Cara Gallivan ’09, Shane Hubbell ’08, Jenna Monaster ’08, Allen Piekara ’09, Jay Shah ’08, Nirav Shah ’08, Stephen Votto ’08 and Stephen Walker ’08.

A centerpiece of Friday’s activities was the Steinmetz dance recital in the Nott Memorial. Some 70 dancers performed in 16 pieces, among them, Carly Aimi ’08’s high-energy “Another Brick in the Wall,” Dance Program Director Miryam Moutillet’s elegant “Atom Heart Mother,” and Joey Hunziker ’08’s existential “Is There Anybody Out There?”

Benjamin Miles and a partner joined six other Ballroom Club couples in the tango number, “Come Closer.”  

Dazzling the overflow audience with their live music were Jacob Klein ’09 on drums, Paul Amy ’08 on guitar, bassist William Wilkins ’09 on bass and Tristan Allen on keyboard.

The 2008 Edward Villella Fellowship, announced at the end of the show, went to Amelia Patten Whitney ’09, Kira Moldow ’10 and Nozomi Sakata ’09, who will be pursuing dance projects in New York, France and Japan next year.

The new Hedda Hainebach Memorial Prize in Music and Theatre went to Richard Leahy ’08.

The Steinmetz Symposium, which continues through Saturday, is named for Charles Proteus Steinmetz (1865-1923), who taught Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics at Union and was also a leading General Electric engineer.

The Steinmetz Symposium coincides with Prize Day, which recognizes student achievement.

Student art is on view in the Burns Arts Atrium Gallery in the Visual Arts Building.

For more pictures from the symposium, check out our photo gallery.

For a complete schedule, visit http://www.union.edu/Steinmetz/.

For a complete list of Prize Day winners, click here.

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Posted on May 1, 2008

Winners of the eighth annual Rube Goldberg Engineering Competition, held Saturday at Memorial Fieldhouse, are surely smiling this year.

The area middle and high school students who took part in this year’s engineering challenge were asked to invent a machine no larger than 5 feet in length, width and depth, which can draw a smiley face.

Nearly 150 students grouped in 25 teams tackled the problem. The winners are:

First Place: Going Green, Schenectady Christian School; Advisor Karl Kunker

Second Place: Integral of e^yx, WSWHE (Washington, Saratoga, Warren, Hamilton, Essex counties) BOCES; Advisor Mike Sgambelluri

Third Place: The Huffy Killers, North Warren Central School District; Advisor Scott Robertson.

This year’s challenge was “actually quite hard,” said Jim Hedrick, Electrical and Computer Engineering lecturer and director of the event. “Transforming translational energy to circular energy is not easy because the face part must be drawn, not stamped.”

Hedrick was assisted by Lance Spallholz, lab manager and Computer Science instructor, and Linda Almstead, Computer Science, senior lecturer.

Competition sponsors were Union’s Engineering program and Office of Admissions, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, KAPL Nova and the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium.

The late Rube Goldberg was an engineer and Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist whose works appeared in thousands of daily newspapers from 1914 to 1964 depicting “inventions” that epitomized “man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to accomplish minimal results.”

In keeping with that theme, the competition involves making simple, ordinary tasks unnecessarily complex, cumbersome and convoluted by taking a two or three-step task and creating a machine to accomplish it in least 20 steps.            

The winning machine and a film of the competition will be displayed at the Schenectady museum. For more information, visit http://engineering.union.edu/me_dept/rube/.

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Posted on May 1, 2008

Associate Professor of History Andrea Foroughi's latest book, “Go If You Think It Your Duty: A Minnesota Couple’s Civil War Letters,” recently was published by Minnesota Historical Society Press. The book chronicles America’s deadliest war through the eyes of the Bowlers, who shared more than 230 letters while James Bowler served in the Third Minnesota Volunteer Regiment and Lizzie stayed in Nininger, Minn.

James Madison Bowler was 23 in 1861. Lizzie Caleff was 21. They courted, married, had children and bought a farm. They attended dances, talked politics, confided their deepest fears – all separately, through hundreds of letters, as the American Civil War raged around them.

From the first “Dear Lizzie” in April 1860 to the final “Ever Yours, Madison,” in September 1865, the relationship between James and Lizzie “has an intimacy that’s beguiling,” says Foroughi.

To read a review by the Associated Press that has appeared in publications worldwide, click here.

 

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Posted on May 1, 2008

Several Political Science faculty and students recently attended the New York State Political Science Association annual conference at the University at Albany. Visiting Instructor Darius Watson presented a paper entitled “Multilateralism and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime.” Associate Professor Zoe Oxley, Benjamin Bauer ’08 and Omar Shakir ’08 participated in a roundtable regarding undergraduate and graduate student journals, titled “Publishing a Student Political Science Journal: Faculty and Student Experiences.” Bauer and Shakir are editors of The Pi Sigma Alpha Undergraduate Journal of Politics, which is currently hosted by Union’s chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha. Whitney Ogás ’08, the journal’s third editor, was unable to attend the conference but prepared comments for the roundtable. 

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