Undergraduate prizes awarded to six students for academic achievement

Princeton University celebrated the academic accomplishments of its students with the awarding of undergraduate prizes to six students at Opening Exercises on Sunday, Sept. 1.

“I’m honored to be able to celebrate this year’s prize winners,” said Dean of the College Michael D. Gordin. “While Princeton is fortunate to be home to a good many students who are justly proud of their exceptional records of accomplishment, these prize winners stand out.

“In addition to achieving great strides academically, in their wide-ranging programs of study they boldly exemplify the heart of our liberal arts mission,” Gordin said. “My colleagues and I congratulate them warmly and are eager to follow their continued success.”

Freshman First Honor Prize

Ram Narayanan received the Freshman First Honor Prize, awarded each year in recognition of exceptional academic achievement as a first-year student.

Narayanan, of Scarsdale, New York, attended Horace Mann School in the Bronx. A member of New College West, he is considering majoring in physics and pursuing minors in computer science, materials science and engineering, and applied and computational mathematics. He is a recipient of the 2024 Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize.

This summer, Narayanan was an intern in Princeton's ReMatch+ program, where he conducted materials research with Sanfeng Wu, assistant professor of physics. Narayanan also attended the Princeton Summer School on Condensed Matter Physics in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Study.

He is a member of the Princeton Society of Physics Students, Princeton Students in Quantum, and a Community Action leader.

The George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize

This year’s George B. Wood Legacy Sophomore Prize is shared by Akshat Agarwal and Braeden Carroll. The prize is awarded each year to members of the junior class in recognition of exceptional academic achievement during their sophomore year.

Agarwal, of Princeton, attended West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North. A member of Yeh College, he is a mathematics major who is also pursuing minors in history, statistics and machine learning, and applied and computational mathematics. He has served as an undergraduate course assistant in mathematics and computer science.

Outside the classroom, Agarwal is president of the student-run group Business Today and managing director of Princeton Undergraduate Capital Partners, which helps students gain industry experience in venture capital. He is also a member of the Princeton International Relations Council.

This summer, he conducted machine learning research in the lab of Adji Bousso Dieng, assistant professor of computer science.

Carroll, of Kinnelon, New Jersey, attended Kinnelon High School there. A recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the 2022–23 academic year, he is a civil and environmental engineering major who is also pursuing a minor in finance. He is a member of Rockefeller College.

Outside the classroom, Carroll is a member of the Princeton lightweight rowing team. In 2023, he completed a High Meadows Environmental Institute (HMEI) internship with the Blue Lab, led by Allison Carruth, professor of American studies and HMEI, investigating the long-term impacts of Super Typhoon Haiyan.

This summer, he conducted research with civil and environmental engineering professors Maria Garlock and Branko Glisic to help design a hybrid structure for Osaka, Japan, that can serve as both a bridge and a flood barrier. The project aims to create a structure that does not draw energy from the grid to operate.

The George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize

This year’s George B. Wood Legacy Junior Prize is shared by Connie Gong and Caroline Zhao. The prize is awarded to members of the senior class in recognition of exceptional academic achievement during their junior year.

Gong is from Belmont, California, where she attended Carlmont High School. A recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence for the 2021–22 academic year, she is a sociology major who is also pursuing minors in environmental studies, and statistics and machine learning. She is a member of Butler College.

Her senior thesis will focus on the attitudes of formerly incarcerated people towards prison labor on the “farm line” at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, widely known as Angola. Gong is conducting her research in partnership with the nonprofit Louisiana Parole Project. Her adviser is John Robinson III, assistant professor of sociology.

Gong is the co-president of the Princeton Conservation Society, a student-run group focused on the environment. She was previously a peer academic adviser for Butler College. She serves as an undergraduate course assistant in SML 201: Introduction to Data Science and is a head fellow at the Princeton Writing Center.

This summer, Gong interned at the Missouri State Public Defender’s Trial Division Office in St. Louis, supported by a Summer Social Impact Internship through the Center for Career Development. She has also interned internationally as a teaching assistant with the Northern Kenya Conservation Clubs through the High Meadows Environmental Institute.

Zhao, of Westfield, New Jersey, attended Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains. A two-time recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, she is a chemical and biological engineering major who is also pursuing minors in finance and computer science. She is a member of Butler College.

Her senior thesis will focus on developing biological enzyme system models to investigate the use of cellulose as a sustainable biofuel. Her adviser is Jerelle Joseph, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering and bioengineering.

Outside the classroom, Zhao is president of both the Princeton Engineering Council and the Princeton Bridge Club, a coxswain for the Princeton lightweight rowing team, a SHARE Peer, and a student manager of the Ultraviolet Recording Studio in Bloomberg Hall.

Zhao has been a precept assistant in computer science and will serve as an undergraduate course assistant in economics this fall. She is also a volunteer with Princeton's Special Olympics Rowing program, a partnership between the Student Volunteers Council and Special Olympics.

She worked this summer at Bain Capital as a private equity summer analyst.

Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award

Ian Henriques received the Class of 1939 Princeton Scholar Award, which is awarded each year to the undergraduate who, at the end of junior year, has achieved the highest academic standing for all preceding college work at the University.

Henriques, of Winter Springs, Florida, attended Seminole High School in Sanford. A two-time recipient of the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, he is an electrical and computer engineering major who is also pursuing a minor in neuroscience. He received the Manfred Pyka Memorial Physics Prize in 2022.  Henriques is a member of Rockefeller College.

For his senior thesis, he plans to work with Niraj Jha, professor of electrical and computer engineering, with a focus on computer architecture and machine learning.

Outside of the classroom, Henriques is co-president of the Princeton University Robotics Club. In 2023, he co-led the winning team at Harvard University's PacBot Competition, in which students build robots to navigate a Pac-Man-inspired course. Princeton's Robotics Club earned the highest score in the competition's history and shared first place with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Henriques is also the co-leader of Princeton's Loaves and Fishes program with the Diocese of Trenton, which provides meals to homeless and low-income individuals. He has served as a teaching assistant for several engineering, physics and mathematics courses.

This summer, he interned at the AI chip technology firm Nvidia.