The accomplishments of Princeton's students were celebrated with the
awarding of four undergraduate prizes at Opening Exercises Sept. 10.
"Among the qualities that matter to us at Princeton, none are 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
Wei Ho of Chamblee, Ga., received the Freshman First Honor
Prize, awarded each year to a sophomore in recognition of exceptional
achievement during the freshman year.
Ho, who immigrated with his family from Taiwan when he was entering
third grade, is a graduate of Chamblee Charter High School. He has
received a writing award in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search
sponsored by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. In
addition, he twice represented Georgia in the American Regions Math
League competition, participated in the Governor's Honors Program and
attended the Michigan National Debate Institute Classic debate camp.
A B.S.E. candidate, Ho is majoring in computer science. Next month, he
will receive the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence. He serves as
the Webmaster for the University's Chinese Students Association.
George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize
The George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize is presented each year to a
member of the junior class in recognition of exceptional academic
achievement during the sophomore year. This year, the prize was shared
by Andrei Negut and Zachary Squire.
Negut lives in Bucharest, Romania, and is a graduate of Colegiul
National "Tudor Vianu" in Bucharest. An A.B. candidate, he is majoring
in mathematics and plans to complete a certificate in applied and
computational mathematics.
A member of the Romanian Mathematical Olympiad team, Negut has won
medals in three International Mathematics Olympiads and in four Balkan
Mathematics Olympiads. Since coming to Princeton, he has participated
in two Putnam Undergraduate Math Competitions, placing in the top 15 in
2004 and in the top 25 in 2005. He also has participated in two
International Math Competitions for Undergraduates, receiving the grand
first prize in 2005 and first prize in 2006.
Next month, Negut will receive the Shapiro Prize for Academic
Excellence. After graduation, he plans to attend graduate school in
mathematics and then pursue a career as a researcher or college
professor.
Negut enjoys photography, rock climbing, capoeira, traveling, and learning about the Russian language and culture.
Squire lives in New York City. He is a graduate of the Collegiate
School, where he served as president of the student body and as an
elected leader in several other extracurricular activities. An A.B.
candidate, he is majoring in classics.
Before coming to Princeton, Squire earned first place in the Cicero
Division of the New York Classical Club Annual Latin Sight Translation
Contest and a Silver Key for Excellence in Writing in the Columbia
University Scholastic Art and Writing Awards Competition. He also
participated in the Princeton Humanities Symposium in fall 2004.
At Princeton, Squire has received the Quin Morton '36 Writing Seminar
Essay Prize and the classics department's Stinnecke Prize. Next month,
he will receive the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the
second time.
Squire is active in the Undergraduate Student Government, serving as
chair of the Campus and Community Affairs Business Subcommittee and as
the public safety and governance liaison of the Undergraduate Life
Committee.
George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize
This year's George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize went to Glen Weyl, a
graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Conn. The award is
given to a member of the senior class in recognition of exceptional
academic achievement during the junior year.
Weyl, who is from Los Altos Hills, Calif., is an A.B. candidate
majoring in economics. He plans to complete certificates in
finance and in applied and computational mathematics. His research
interests are focused on applied microeconomic theory as well as on the
intersection between economics and other disciplines, particularly
computer science, neuroscience, philosophy, psychology and political
science. He expects to write his senior thesis on issues in two-sided
markets and the payments card industry. This fall Weyl will be
presenting his work at the Ph.D. research seminar at Princeton's
Bendheim Center for Finance and at a seminar he has been invited to
give in Toulouse, France.
Weyl has twice received the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, and
also has been awarded the Quin Morton '36 Writing Seminar Essay Prize,
the Daily Princetonian Arts Writing Award, the Walter E. Hope '01
Memorial Freshman Debating Prize, the Walter E. Hope '01 Extemporaneous
Speaking Prize and the Spencer Trask Medal as the best freshman
debater. He also has earned several national scholarships, including
the Josephine DeKármán Fellowship, the Humane Studies Fellowship, a
Merit Scholarship from the National Scholars Honors Society and a Merit
Award from the National Society of Collegiate Scholars.
Weyl founded and was president of the Latin American Studies Student
Organization and Princeton Against Protectionism, served as a food and
film critic of The Daily Princetonian and was a member of the Debate
Panel. He is an undergraduate fellow and peer adviser at Forbes College
and an undergraduate fellow at the James Madison Program, the Princeton
Institute for International and Regional Studies and the Human Values
Forum. He also has served as a referee for the Quarterly Journal of
Economics and as a tutor in math, physics, computer science and
economics.
Following graduation, Weyl plans to attend graduate school in
economics. By the end of his senior year, he expects to have completed
all of the courses and general exams that would be required for a Ph.D.
in economics at Princeton. He aspires to become an academic economist.
Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award
Tamara Broderick 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.
Broderick, who lives in Parma, Ohio, is a graduate of the Laurel School
in Shaker Heights, Ohio. An A.B. candidate, she is majoring in
mathematics and plans to complete certificates in applied and
computational mathematics and in applications of computing. Her
research interests include machine learning, which she expects will be
the focus of her senior thesis. One of her junior papers used machine
learning techniques to determine the movement patterns of animals on
Panama's Barro Colorado Island from radio telemetry data.
Broderick has received a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the George B.
Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize, the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence,
the Quin Morton '36 Writing Seminar Essay Prize, the Manfred Pyka
Memorial Physics Prize and the Eugene Taylor Prize in Physics.
She is co-president of the Math Club and has been active in Princeton
Engineering Education for Kids, a program through which undergraduates
visit elementary schools and teach children basic principles of
engineering using Lego toys. She was an undergraduate fellow last year
at Mathey College and will be an peer adviser there this year. An avid
runner, she has served as a leader for Outdoor Action, Princeton's
wilderness orientation program.
After graduation, Broderick plans to attend graduate school in
mathematics, statistics or machine learning in preparation for a career
as a college professor.