Beginning this year -- the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Albert Bildner Prizes in Latin American Languages and Literature at Yale -- the prize for a graduating senior in Portuguese will be dedicated to the memory of Maria Tai Wolff, 1958-97, a former recipient of the prize.
In fact, during her Yale career, Ms. Wolff received two Bildner Prizes. She won the Bildner essay prize in Portuguese during her junior year and received the Bildner prize for a graduating senior in Portuguese in 1979, when she graduated summa cum laude with distinction in Spanish and a combined major in literature, French and Portuguese. She later received her Ph.D. in comparative literature from Yale.
Ms. Wolff served on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin at Madison for several years before leaving to earn a law degree at Stanford University. She later worked for a California law firm, specializing in bankruptcy law and international and commercial litigation, although she retained a lifelong interest in Latin American literature, particularly the literature of Brazil.
The Bildner Prize is being dedicated to Ms. Wolff's memory in honor of her "exuberance, energy, humor, compassion for others and ability to find extraordinary happiness in life's small moments." The prize also honors Ms. Wolff's belief that "each of us has a 'lingua d'alma' that is not necessarily our native tongue."
The first Maria Tai Wolff Prize for a graduating senior in Portuguese was presented to Marta Soler of Morse College. The prize carries a $400 cash award.
Other Bildner Prizes presented this year were:
The Professor Jose Arrom Prize for an outstanding essay written in Spanish, $400, to Emmanuel Evita '97 of Branford College;
The Patricia Bildner Prize for the outstanding essay written in Portuguese, $400, to Kris Bahr '98 of Timothy Dwight College;
The Bildner Prize for the graduating senior who has achieved high academic average in Spanish courses, $400, to Cheryl Morgan of Silliman College; and
The Albert Bildner Travel Prize, $900, to Elizabeth Cuevas '98 of Jonathan Edwards College.
FIELD PRIZES: The Theron Rockwell Field Prize for a poetic, literary or religious work by any Yale student has been awarded this year to two graduate students and one undergraduate student. Christine M. Helmer of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences received the award for her dissertation "The Trinity and Martin Luther: A Study on the Relationship Between Genre, Language and the Trinity in Luther's Late Works, 1523-1546, "; Daniel J. Solove of the Law School received the prize for his article "Faith Profaned: The Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Religion in the Prisons"; and A. Catharina Wrede '97 of Silliman College won for her essay "Institutions and State-Building on Russia's Periphery: The Case of the Russian Far East." The Theron Rockwell Field Prize, which carries a $6,000 cash award, was established in 1957 by Emilia R. Field in memory of her husband, who was a member of the Class of 1889.
PAUL MELLON FELLOWSHIPS: Next fall, a member of the Class of 1997 will study at Clare College of Cambridge University in England, and a student from Clare College will study at Yale via the 1997 Paul Mellon Fellowships. David Ratzan of Davenport College, a classics major who received a B.A. this year, will pursue a second bachelor's degree in English literature at Clare College. Mr. Ratzan has garnered many awards during his career at Yale. In additon to being elected to Phi Beta Kappa, he received the Sophomore and Junior Latin Prizes, the Sophomore Greek Prize and the A.P. Scholar Award. He was treasurer for the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project, served on the Dwight Hall board of directors and sang in the Battell Chapel Choir. At Clare College, he also hopes to pursue his interest in singing in a chapel choir, playing soccer, football, and community service. Nathaniel Ellis, who graduated from Clare College in 1996 with a degree in geography, will come to campus in the fall to pursue an M.A. in international relations. In addition to serving as an officer of Clare College's student union, Mr. Ellis helped raise funds for the Overseas Educational Fund and other charities. At Yale, he will reside in Saybrook College.
YALE CHINA PRIZE: The Yale-China Prize, honoring the best piece of scholarship addressing any aspect of the study of China, was awarded to Michael Jung '97 of Branford College for his senior essay "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles in China." Mr. Jung has pursued a double major in East Asian studies and studies in the environment at Yale. The Yale-China Prize was established to promote the study of China at Yale, and helps to further Yale-China's mission of building mutual understanding between the peoples of the U.S. and China. The competition is open to all students in Yale College and is awarded annually at Commencement.
LOHMANN PRIZES: The 1997 Lohmann Prizes for excellence in undergraduate printing have been awarded to three members of the Class of 1997. Heather Landers of Silliman College won first prize for her senior project, the computer-generated magazine "Bloom." Honorable mentions were awarded to Alisa Scudamore of Jonathan Edwards College for her letterpress poster "Jonathan Edwards Spider Ball" and to Tim McCormick of Ezra Stiles College for his computer- generated poster "Yale Literary Magazine Writing Workshop, October 15." The judges were Bridget Burke, interim curator, Arts of the Book Collection, Sterling Memorial Library: Elisabeth Fairman, associate curator of rare books, Yale Center for British Art; John O. C. McCrillis, retired designer, Yale University Press; Greer Allen, senior critic in the School of Art; and visiting critic Brad Freeman of the faculties of State University of New York at Purchase, Cooper Union and the Museum of Fine Arts School in Boston. Honoring the memory of former University Secretary Carl Lohmann, the prizes are made possible by the Carl Purington Rollins Foundation and Yale University Printing and Graphic Services.
SAPIR PRIZE: The Edward Sapir Prize for the best senior essay in anthropology was awarded to Rituparna Pati of Davenport College for her work "Moori and Milk: An Ethnographic Narrative of the South Asian Diaspora." The prize honors Edward Sapir, a preeminent scholar in linguistic anthropology, a Sterling Professor in Anthropology 1931-39, and one of the founders of Yale's anthropology department.
ENGINEERING PRIZES: Yale's engineering departments have awarded a number of prizes this year. Justin Hartings, a graduate student in applied physics, and Beth Anne Valdati, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, received the Harding Bliss Prize. Jens Nockel, a graduate student in applied physics, won the Henry Prentiss Graduate Prize. This following undergraduate awards were also presented: the Henry Prentiss Becton Prize to Derek A. Paley '97 of Branford College; the Edward O. Lanphier Memorial Prize in Electrical Engineering to Alan J. Tseng '97 of Morse College; the Donald Warren McCrosky Prize in Mechanical Engineering to George M. Allen '97 of Davenport College; the 1997 Department of Chemical Engineering, Walker, Prize to Mark R. Hagan '97 of Ezra Stiles College; the 1997 Harry A. Curtis Prize in Chemical Engineering to Leah R. Barton '97 of Pierson College; the 1997 Department of Applied Physics Prize to Preeti Chalsani '97 of Calhoun College; the 1997 Franz Tuteur Memorial Prize in Electrical Engineering to Benjamin B. Kuris '97 of Branford College; the 1997 Department of Chemical Engineering Junior Prize to Ahmed E. Ismail '98 of Trumbull College; and the 1997 Belle and Carl Morse Junior Prize in Engineering or Applied Science to Michael J. Janik '98 of Pierson College.
VAN SINDEREN PRIZES: Seven students have received Adrian Van Sinderen Prizes for Book Collecting. The prizes were established in 1957 by the late Adrian Van Sinderen, B.A. 1910, to encourage undergraduates to collect books, to build up their own libraries and to read for both pleasure and education. The Senior Prize of $500 was awarded to Timothy McCormick of Ezra Stiles College, for his collection of graphic design and typography; in addition, a First Prize Runner-Up award of $350 was presented to Giovindini S. Murty of Berkeley College, for her collection of books on early 20th-century Canadiana. Honorable Mention awards of $250 were presented to two seniors: Joel Burges of Saybrook College, for his collection of books by and about Joyce Carol Oates, and John M. James of Morse College, for his collection on Islam. Sophomore Prizes of $350 were awarded to Melissa de la Cruz of Timothy Dwight College, for her collection of books on China, and Anya Elizabeth Liftig of Morse College, for her collection on George Balanchine. Honorable Mention awards of $150 were awarded to sophomore Brian N. Garland of Pierson College, for his collection of books about political philosophy, international relations and world literature. The Yale Co-operative Corporation awards gift certificates of $100 to the top prize winners and $50 certificates to those who win honorable mentions. This year's judges were Stephen Parks, chair, and Sylvia Abbate, Richard Ballard, Elisabeth Fairman, James Prosek and William Reese.
WREXHAM PRIZES: Two members of the Class of 1997 have received Wrexham Prizes this year. Kate Ellen Andrias of Silliman College was awarded the prize for "the best Senior essay in the field of humanities" for her essay "Lessons of a Different Sort: The New Haven Teachers' Strike of 1975." The paper was advised by Professor Laura Wexler and submitted to the American studies program. Adir Gurion Waldman of Trumbull College received the Wrexham-Heinz Social Science Prize for the "best Senior essay or other substantial piece of writing in the field of the social sciences" for his essay "Negotiated Transitions to Democracy: Israel and the Palestinians as a Case Study." His paper was advised by Professors Ian Shapiro and Charles Hill and submitted to the department of political science and to the program in international studies.
NEWCOMBE DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS: Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships were presented to two current Yale students and four Yale College alumni. The awards are designed to support graduate students in the final stages of writing doctoral dissertations on topics of ethical or religious values. David J. Kangas, in the religious studies program, received a fellowship for his dissertation "Soren Kierkegaard's Religious Poetics and the Refiguration of the Ethical," and John W. Stuaffer, in the American studies program, won the prize for his dissertation "The Black Hearts of Men: Gerrit Smith and the Dilemmas of Antebellum Reform." The Yale alumni who won fellowships and the schools where they are now studying are: Max C. Cavitch '86, Rutgers University; Mara L. Keire '89, Johns Hopkins University; Jeffrey A. Hadler '90, Cornell University; and Michael Weingrad '90, University of Washington.
ASME INTERNSHIP: The American Society of Magazine Editors, ASME, has selected Jay Dixit '98 of Ezra Stiles College to serve in its summer editorial internship. Mr. Dixit will work for 10 weeks at Discovery Channel Magazine Online.
CARNEGIE INTERNSHIP: As part of its Junior Fellows Program, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has awarded a year-long internship to Sabrineh Ardalan '97 of Ezra Stiles College.
DOROT TRAVEL GRANTS: The Dorot Foundation, a leading Jewish educational philanthropic organization, has awarded travel grants to support academic summer programs in Israel to the following students: Ophir Agassi '00 of Calhoun College; Sarah Beck '98 of Timothy Dwight College; Samantha Berger '98 of Silliman College; Aliza Dzik '99 of Silliman College; Joshua Feigelson '99 of Silliman College; Lisa Friedman '00 of Saybrook College; Sarah Minkin '99 of Morse College; Joshua Segal '97 of Branford College; Sarah Silverman '98 of Silliman College; Jacob Stein '00 of Morse College; and Zeke Vanderhoek '98 of Morse College. In addition, Dorot Fellowships for study in Israel during the 1997-98 year have been awarded to five members of the Class of 1997: Marc Aaron Baker of Berkeley College; Shana Komitee of Ezra Stiles College, Daniel N. Marx of Timothy Dwight College, Tamar Mentzel of Saybrook College and David E. Novick of Berkeley College.
FULBRIGHT AWARDS: Twelve members of the Class of 1997 have received awards from the Fulbright Foundation. Those receiving Fulbright Foundation Full Grants and the projects they will be pursuing are: Sari Bashi of Pierson College, who will study political science in Israel; Charles Borden of Ezra Stiles College, who will study Scottish history in the United Kingdom; Kendra Fowler of Ezra Stiles College, who will study political science in Belgium; Tamiesha Fremong of Branford College, who will conduct biological research in Ghana; Royal Hansen of Saybrook College, who will develop internet teaching tools in the United Arab Emirates; Matthew Rockman of Calhoun College, who will conduct biological research in Australia; Sarina van der Zee of Branford College, who will conduct biological research in the Netherlands; and Etay Ziv of Branford College, who will conduct biological research in Israel.
Those receiving Fulbright Teaching Assistantships are: Michael Jung of Branford College, Annie Kim of Morse College and Katherine Rhee of Branford College. All three will will teach in Korea.
GOLDWATER SCHOLARSHIPS: Two Yale College juniors have been selected to receive Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships: Adrianna Herskovits of Calhoun College and Prashanth Vallabhajosyula of Saybrook College. The merit-based awards support one or two years of study in the natural sciences and mathematics.
HENRY FELLOWSHIP: Each year through the Henry Fellowship, an exchange program between Harvard and Yale universities and the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford, a fellowship is made granted to a Yale graduating senior funding study for one academic year at either Oxford or Cambridge. This year's recipient is Mark Hoffman '97 of Saybrook College, who will study physics at Cambridge.
HOWLAND FELLOWSHIP: The Charles P. Howland of 1891 Fellowship is given to support study or research abroad to a Yale College senior who demonstrates promise of useful activity in efforts to improve international relations. This year's recipient is Meredith Fort of Trumbull College, who will work with Conservation International on implementing family health care programs in Pet n, Guatemala.
PARKER HUANG FELLOWSHIPS: Established by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, Parker Huang Undergraduate Travel Fellowships are awarded to students in Yale College to support study and travel in the non-English speaking countries of Asia and Africa. This year's recipients Q all members of the Class of 1997 Q are: Clara Chun of Morse College, who will pursue advanced Korean language studies at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea; Hung Dang of Ezra Stiles College, who will undertake a study of nationalism and literature in Vietnam; Susie Lim of Davenport College, who will pursue intensive Korean language studies at Yonsei University; Hao Quach of Silliman College, who will study advanced Mandarin at the Mandarin Training Center at Taiwan Normal University; and Mia Todd of Branford College, who will study at the Kazuo Ohno Dance Institute in Yokohama, Japan, and conduct research on the performance art form of Butoh.
LIGHT FELLOWSHIPS: Funded by the Richard U. Light Foundation of Kalamazoo, Michigan, the Richard U. Light Fellowships at Yale support language study at approved sites in East Asia for a summer, term or academic year. Recipients of summer fellowships are: Katherine Allen '99 of Timothy Dwight College, who will study in Japan; Maxwell Dana '99 of Branford College, who will study in Japan; Noah Friedman '99 of Calhoun College, who will study in China; Cindy Huang '99 of Silliman College, who will study in China; Stephen Shin '97 of Saybrook College, who will study in Korea; and Emma Tsui '99 of Trumbull College, who will study in China. The recipients of term or academic year fellowships are: Peter Blenkinsop '99 of Jonathan Edwards College, who will study in Japan; Michael Brown '97 of Branford College, who will study in China; Emily Chiang '97 of Morse College, who will study in China; Angela Chan '98 of Jonathan Edwards College, who will study in China; Susan Jakes '97 of Trumbull College, who will study in China; Annie Kim '97 of Morse College, who will study in Korea; James Levy '98 of Ezra Stiles College, who will study in Japan; and Timothy Webster '97 of Silliman College, who will study in Taiwan. In addition, Kathryn Merkel-Hess '99 of Ezra Stiles College received both a summer award and a term award for study in China.
RICE FELLOWSHIPS: Established by the Yale Center for International and Area Studies, Henry Hart Rice Foreign Residence Fellowships support year-long projects of study, research or work abroad in countries with which U.S. relations are "tense or strained." One Yale College senior received the award this year: Rachel Price of Calhoun College, who will assist in the development of proposals and communication services for the Regional Indigenous Council of the Cauca in Colombia.
SUMMER IN EAST ASIA GRANTS: Summer Research in East Asia Travel Grants are awarded to students in Yale College to support research in East Asia in any discipline. This year's recipients are: Joan Kee '97 of Saybrook College, who will study contemporary Korean art in Korea and Japan; Rowena McBeath '98 of Jonathan Edwards College, who will conduct research on lymphatic filariasis at the Institute of Parasitic Diseases in Shanghai; and Yilu Zhao '98 of Calhoun College, who will study Chinese painting and sculpture in Northwest China.
TIME INC. INTERNSHIP: Time Inc. has selected one Yale College student to serve as a summer editorial intern. Gabriel Snyder '98 of Berkeley College will work for nine weeks at Time Magazine in New York.
TRUMAN SCHOLARSHIPS: Harry S. Truman Scholarships support up to four years of university study, i.e., senior year of college and one to three years of graduate school, for students planning careers in public service. Three Yale College juniors and one senior were recipients this year: Preston Hopson III '98 of Silliman College, Rachel Kleinfeld '98 of Davenport College, Jacob Sullivan '98 of Calhoun College and Leah Kern '97 of Pierson College.
UDALL SCHOLARSHIPS: Yale was invited to nominate students from the sophomore and junior classes for the Morris K. Udall Scholarships, merit-based awards supporting a year of study for American undergraduates with a demonstrated interest in and potential for careers in environmental public policy, and for Native Americans or Alaska Natives with a demonstrated interest in a career in health care or tribal public policy. This year's Udall Scholars are: Jennifer McTiernan '99 of Calhoun College and Katherine Spector ' 99 of Davenport College.
YALE-UNITE INTERNSHIPS: Three Yale College students have been chosen to participate in a six-week summer internship at the Union of Needle Trades and Industrial Textile Employees, UNITE, in New York: Claire Fallender '98 of Pierson College, Daniel Lang '99 of Pierson College and Wasana Punyasena '98 of Calhoun College.
MELLON FELLOWSHIPS IN HUMANISTIC STUDIES: Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies, supporting the first year of graduate study at any U.S. or Canadian graduate school, were awarded to one senior, Bonnie Foote of Ezra Stiles College, and to four alumni: Seth Lobis '96 of Pierson College, Mark Oppenheimer '96 of Jonathan Edwards College, Angela Rodel '96 of Silliman College and Rachel Slayman '96 of Jonathan Edwards College.
NSF FELLOWSHIPS: Eight members of the Class of 1997 received National Science Foundation, NSF, Graduate Research Fellowships supporting three years of graduate study in science, mathematics or engineering. They are: Elizabeth Hawkins of Jonathan Edwards College, Maxwell Heiman of Branford College, Andrew Karch of Branford College, Elaine Pincus of Calhoun College, Lauren Richie of Ezra Stiles College, Matthew Rockman of Calhoun College, Thomas Treynor of Timothy Dwight College and Alan Tseng of Morse College. NSF Fellowships were also presented to 14 alumni: Kim Cobb '96, Alana Conner '96, Angela De Pace '96, Katrina Keil '93, Steven Miller '96e, Josephine Pichanick '95, Erik Rauch '96, Ethan R. Remmel '91, Elizabeth Stanley '92, Anne Tilney '95, Peter van Roessel '96, Tessa Warren '96 and Benjamin Zimmer '92.
In addition, NSF Minority Graduate Fellowships supporting three years of graduate study in science, mathematics or engineering were awarded to three Yale College seniors: Tami Edwards of Silliman College, Jeffrey Kulkarni of Silliman College and Diego Miranda of Calhoun College.
ROTARY SCHOLARSHIPS: Rotary International Scholarships supporting a year of graduate study abroad were awarded to two Yale College seniors: Leo Alaniz of Ezra Stiles, for study in the United Kingdom, and Sari Bashi of Pierson College, for study in Israel.
ITALIAN AMERICAN FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP: The National Italian American Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving Italian heritage, has awarded its Angela Scholarship to Anthony C. Triolo '00.
HERTZ FELLOWSHIP: A Fannie and John Hertz Foundation Fellowship supporting up to five years of graduate study in the applied physical sciences was awarded to Thomas Treynor '97 of Timothy Dwight College.
NEW YORK STATE RESEARCH GRANT: The New York State Archives and the New York State Archives Partnership Trust has awarded a research grant to Rachel J. Devlin, a doctoral candidate in history, for her dissertation "Their Father's Daughters': Female Adolescents and the Problem of Sexual Authority in America, 1945- 1965." Ms. Devlin will use records from the Westfield State Farm for her research on female juvenile delinquency, which increased dramatically during and after World War II. She will explore the ways in which female adolescent behavior was diagnosed and treated by New York State institutions in postwar America and how that behavior was thought to relate to other aspects of personality, including developmental problems and family history Q particularly father-daughter relationships.
DISSERTATION GRANTS IN WOMEN'S HEALTH: A 1997 Woodrow Wilson-Johnson & Johnson dissertation grant in women's health has been awarded to Elissa Sarah Epel, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology. Her proposed dissertation title is "Body Fat Distribution and Stress Hormones: The Roles of Chronic Stress, Coping and Social Class Among Women." The dissertation grants are designed to encourage attention to health issues that are specific to women and to consider their implication for the understanding of women's lives.