The accomplishments of Princeton's students were celebrated with the
awarding of four undergraduate prizes at Opening Exercises Sept. 11.
"Among the qualities that matter to us at Princeton, none is more
important than intellectual engagement and academic achievement," said
Dean of the College Nancy Malkiel. "It is especially fitting that we
begin the academic year by honoring a select group of undergraduates
for extraordinary accomplishment in their programs of study."
Freshman First Honor Prize
Amirali Shanechi of Toronto, Ontario, received the Freshman
First Honor Prize, awarded each year to a sophomore in recognition of
exceptional achievement during the freshman year.
Shanechi, who immigrated with his family to Canada from Iran in 2001,
is a graduate of Don Mills Collegiate Institute in North York, Ontario.
He has participated in two International Physics Olympiads as a member
of the Canadian team, winning a silver medal in 2003 and a gold medal
in 2004.
A B.S.E. candidate at Princeton, he is majoring in electrical
engineering and pursuing certificates in engineering physics, applied
and computational mathematics, and applications of computing. Later
this month, he will receive the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence.
George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize
This year's George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize went to Tamara Broderick,
a graduate of the Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The award is
given to a member of the junior class in recognition of exceptional
academic achievement during the sophomore year.
Broderick, who lives in Parma, Ohio, is an A.B. candidate majoring in
mathematics. She also plans to complete a certificate in applications
of computing. Since coming to Princeton, she has received the Quin
Morton '36 Writing Seminar Essay Prize, the Manfred Pyka Memorial
Physics Prize and the Eugene Taylor Prize in Physics. Later this month,
she will receive the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the
second time.
Broderick has conducted research in astrophysics since high school,
when she contributed to a paper that was published in the Astrophysics
Journal. She spent the summer of 2004 at Princeton working on a
gravitational lensing problem. This past summer, she worked for the
National Security Administration in the Director's Summer Program.
After graduation, she intends to go to graduate school in preparation
for a career as a college professor.
Broderick is a leader in Outdoor Action, Princeton's wilderness
orientation program, and a member of both the math club and Princeton
Engineering Education for Kids (PEEK), a program through which
undergraduates visit elementary schools and teach children basic
principles of engineering using Lego toys.
George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize
The George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize is presented each year to a
member of the senior class in recognition of exceptional academic
achievement during the junior year. This year, the prize was shared by Joshua Brodie and Jessica Gasiorek.
Brodie, who is from New York City, is a graduate of the Horace Mann
School in Riverdale, N.Y. An A.B. candidate, he is majoring in
mathematics and completing certificates in finance and in applied and
computational mathematics.
Brodie is interested in the more theoretical side of applied
mathematics -- the fundamental underpinnings of applied techniques. He
received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for his freshman
year. He is exploring graduate school options and looking into possible
careers in finance.
As one of two editors of the opinion page of Princeton's student
newspaper, The Daily Princetonian, Brodie coordinates content and works
with the editorial board to research and write staff editorials.
Gasiorek is a graduate of Palo Alto Senior High School in her hometown
of Palo Alto, Calif. An A.B. candidate, she is majoring in French and
Italian and is most interested in the study of the two languages rather
than their literatures.
Gasiorek twice has received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence
and was awarded the R. Percy Alden Memorial Prize in French. Following
graduation, she hopes to pursue a career in publishing or
communications as an editor or translator. Last summer, she worked at a
translation company in Paris through the Princeton-in-France program.
Gasiorek played club badminton for two years and served as club
president in her sophomore year. This year, she is a peer adviser in
Rockefeller College.
Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award
Catherine Kunkel is this year's recipient of the Class of 1939
Princeton Scholar Award, given to the undergraduate who, at the end of
the junior year, has achieved the highest academic standing for all
preceding college work at the University.
Kunkel, who lives in Woodstock, Md., is a graduate of Mount Hebron High
School in Ellicott City, Md. An A.B. candidate, she is majoring in
physics. She has been named a 2005 Morris K. Udall Scholar for her
academic achievement, leadership potential and commitment to pursuing a
career in the environment. At Princeton she twice has received the
Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, and also has been awarded the
Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize, the Kusaka Memorial Prize in
Physics and the Eugene Taylor Prize in Physics.
Kunkel's research interests include geophysics and energy and climate
policy. For her senior thesis, she will be working at the Geophysical
Fluid Dynamics Laboratory to model tsunamis. Her future plans include
earning a Ph.D. in physics and pursuing a career in environmental
policy.
Kunkel has been co-chair of Greening Princeton since her sophomore year
and one of two undergraduate representatives to the Princeton
Environmental Oversight Committee since her freshman year. She also has
served as co-president of Princeton Environmental Action. This summer
she worked for Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonprofit organization in
Washington, D.C.