STEM

Two Students in a Lab

Recipients of these prizes have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement in research and in their scholarship in science, technology engineering and mathematics.

Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship honors seniors who have shown promise in scientific research. 

  • The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship Winner: Husain Adamji
    Husain Adamji (E20)’s strong academic performance and research accomplishments in the rigorous field of Chemical & Biological Engineering is rounded out with engagement in several professional and scholastic organizations, most notably Tau Beta Pi and the Tufts student chapter of the American Institute for Chemical Engineers.  Summer research projects include collaboration with the Electrical Engineering Dept to
  • The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship Winner: Frankie DeIeso-Frechette
    Francesca (Frankie) DeIeso-Frechette (A20) has sustained an extremely high and productive level of engagement in scientific research in biology and public health, in support of her career goal of becoming a pediatrician. Her contributions to several projects – including a new breast cancer treatment and maternal and child health in Ethiopia – have led to a
  • The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship Winner: Rodolfo S. Estrada
    Rodolfo S. Estrada has worked collaboratively and independently on biological research, contributing to the understanding of the impact of stress on birds. He has already co-authored two published research articles and presented results of independent research at national and regional research meetings, including one where he was the only undergraduate to present his research.  The Benjamin
  • The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship Winner: Max McCarthy
    Max McCarthy (A20) is a double major in Biology and Environmental Studies who, during his time at Tufts, has developed into an outstanding scientist and a true scholar. His senior honors thesis is remarkable and timely, using museum specimen data and statistical models to evaluate how the distribution and phenology of solitary bees have changed through
  • The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship Winner: Courtland Priest
    Courtland Priest (E23) had done research at Tufts on thermal processes important to US manufacturing industries and secured a research internship at NASA. In addition to his research abilities, he is considered a leader in the lab and a great team player, training younger students how to conduct research. The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship honors seniors who
  • The Benjamin Graves Brown Scholarship Winner: Joao Marcos Vensi Basso
    Numerous professors supported Joao Marcos Vensi Basso (E20)’s nomination for this award, saying that he was one of the top students in their courses, often performing work at a graduate student level. He has extensive research experience in the department of Biomedical Engineering at Tufts, contributing to the development analysis software and mathematical tools for modeling neuronal dynamics.  He

The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering rewards theoretical sophistication and practical application of knowledge to the problems of human engineering.  

  • The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering Winner: Korri Lampedusa
    The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering rewards theoretical sophistication and practical application of knowledge to the problems of human engineering. Korri Lampedusa (E21) is, in the words of her nominator, “the type of student advisors dream of – intelligent, kind, driven, and passionate about making the world a more inclusive place.”  A former United States Presidential Scholar
  • The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering Winner: Akshita Rao
    With a passion for science and a flourish for research, Akshita Rao (E21) is a double major in Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. As a Tufts Summer Scholar, she developed a heart-on-a-chip: a bioelectronic platform that measured the effects of hypoxia on cardiac electrophysiology. While she’s a twice-published author, she’s not content to confine her achievements to
  • The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering Winner: Zachary Sebek
    Zachary Sebek (A20) has an outstanding academic record double majoring in Psychology and Economics, while minoring in both Japanese and Film & Media Studies.  As a volunteer research assistant, he has shown how those in multiple stigmatized groups are perceived and how they cope with those perceptions.  Another project examined how changes in hiring processes affect
  • The de Florez Prize in Human Engineering Winner: Alexandra Traverse
    Alexandra Traverse (A20) is an Engineering Psychology major who thinks about engineering solutions to everyday problems and moves forward on them with great success.  As research assistant, she has helped to develop and evaluate novel TSA screening systems that leverage what the field knows about human cognition.  Outside of the classroom, Alexandra also is a member of the

The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award is for outstanding academic work in any of the sciences.

  • The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award Winner: Kelsey Detels
    Kelsey Detels (E21) is a junior in the Department of Biomedical Engineering with a penchant for research and a passion for leadership. As a research assistant, she quickly grasped the concepts of cell culture and light-based cancer therapies. She became a valuable member of the iBIT lab and was recently co-author on a paper published in Journal
  • The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award Winner: Tasia Gladkova
    Taissa “Tasia” Gladkova (E20) is a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mathematics who has excelled in all of the scientific areas she has touched at Tufts. Equally at home with code, data, and theory, Tasia’s team-work and leadership have contributed to publications. Her work as an intern in cybersecurity resulted in a published paper,
  • The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award Winner: Samantha Livermore
    Samantha Livermore (A21) stands out for her passion and academic excellence in the fields of physics and astronomy. She consistently demonstrates conceptual understanding and is able to apply these concepts in unfamiliar and not fully defined contexts. She possesses exceptional dedication & motivation, has outstanding work habits and brings intellectual flexibility, creativity and curiosity to problem
  • The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award Winner: Emma Meehan
    In addition to her strong academic performance, Emma Meehan (E20) is an executive board member of the Tufts’ chapters of both the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).  Emma did research in cutting edge Biotechnology, studied abroad at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and was the recipient of the
  • The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award Winner: Jonathan Rodriguez
    A remarkable and top-notch student in upper-level math and computer science courses, Jonathan Rodriguez (A21) has earned many scholarships, including the Neubauer and Kinesis Foundation scholarships and the Astronaut scholarship.  He is a Laidlaw Scholar and co-authored a paper in an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference!   He has a rare aptitude for quickly grasping difficult mathematical
  • The Audrey Butvay Gruss Science Award Winner: Ivara Roth
    Ivara Roth (A21) is an ecologist with a strong interest in conservation biology, exploring how we can make human dominated landscapes more suitable for biodiversity.  She is passionate about the research she has engaged in throughout her time at Tufts:  studying territorial aggression in hummingbirds in Costa Rica, observing the behavior of horned and dehorned Rhinos

The Lieutenant Commander Robert James Manning Memorial Prize Fund recognizes engineering students who show a commitment to excellence. 

  • The Lieutenant Commander Robert James Manning Prize Winner: Matias Aranguiz
    In addition to his rigorous primary Mechanical Engineering major, Matias Aranguiz (E22) has carved out time for a second major in Physics and a minor in Mathematics. As well as demonstrating his outstanding academic excellence from day one, his maturity, sense of responsibility and inherent consideration for those around him have made him an outstanding mentor for other students.His
  • The Lieutenant Commander Robert James Manning Prize Winner: Faizan Muhammad
    Faizan Muhammad (E20) is an outstanding scholar in Computer Science who has made substantial contributions to research in robotics as an undergraduate student.  He played an integral role in creating a proposal recently accepted for funding, was lead author on a short paper to be presented at a conference on human-robot interaction, and mentors undergraduates who joined the research
  • The Lieutenant Commander Robert James Manning Prize Winner: Meg Saksiriwatekul
    Methira ‘Meg’ Saksiriwatekul (E20) excels in the demanding Chemical Engineering curriculum.  She enthusiastically took on a summer research project synthesizing material used to clean filters for wastewater treatment that would include international travel to politically volatile Turkey. Not only did she come up to speed quickly on advanced and complex synthesis techniques, but she adapted the technique to

The Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize is awarded to students who have demonstrated excellence in scientific research and a dedication to scholarly achievement.

  • The Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize Winner: Anirban Chakraborty
    As a self-motivated and a highly productive young researcher, Anirban Chakraborty (A21) impresses his instructors and lab mates with his analytic and logical thinking in basic sciences. Although a biology major in Arts and Sciences, Anirban has been a regular member of the Qiaobing Xu lab in engineering due to his strong interest in applied science and
  • The Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize Winner: Mark C. Gonzalez
    Mark Gonzalez (A20) has shown excellence in scientific research and enthusiasm and dedication to knowledge. He has collaborated on a number of research projects in physics and cosmology, and already has co-authored a scientific article in a distinguished journal, the Journal of Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics. The Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize is awarded to students who
  • The Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize Winner: Samuel E. Shaw
    Samuel Shaw (E20) is a focused, mature, collaborative and engaged Computer Science major.  Working as a summer research intern at Carnegie Mellon, he led a team of three undergraduate students, offered key ideas contributing to the underlying science, and co-authored a paper presented at the top-ranked robotics conference, ICRA.  Sam speaks passionately about mentoring youth and
  • The Class of 1947 Victor Prather Prize Winner: Sarah Shnayder
    Sarah Shnayder (A20) has been an exemplary scientist while double majoring in Biochemistry and Music with impressive success in both areas. Since her freshman summer, Sarah worked on several independent research projects in molecular biology. Professor McVey speaks very highly of her three-year-long commitment and accomplishments in her projects. Her continuous dedication has been recognized by the Tufts Summer Scholars