The Student Library Research Award Evaluation Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2022 Student Library Research Awards, sponsored by the Friends of the Wellesley College Library (more about the awards).
Award recipients demonstrated a thoughtful, methodical, and scholarly approach to research and made creative use of diverse library resources, which contributed to their ability to produce an outstanding research project.
In spite of the continued challenges of doing research during another pandemic year, we again received a large number of submissions (just one shy of last year’s record of 75). We continue to be impressed by the range and creativity of students’ work and their thoughtful reflections on the research process. Thanks to the generosity of the Friends of the Wellesley College Library, we were able to award two prizes in each category, as well as two Honorable Mentions.
First Year Award
Hannah Grimmett ’25 has won a First Year Award for her SOC 212 paper, “Structural Barriers to Rural Poor Educational Attainment: A Response to the Cultural Argument.” Supporting Faculty: Joe Swingle
Mia Silberstein ’24 has won a First Year Award for her WRIT 134 paper, “A Battle for the Soul of Our Courts: The Case for a Biden Administration Article I Independent Immigration Court System.” Supporting Faculty: Erin Battat
100/200-level Award
Ida Beckett ’24 has won a 100/200-level award for her MES/REL 264 paper, “The Sufi Origin and Serious Threat of Coffee and its Houses: How a Stimulant Stimulated Revolt in the Ottoman Empire.” Supporting Faculty: Efe Murat Balıkçıoğlu
Kate Habich ’22 has won a 100/200-level award for their ES 214 paper, “Understanding and Eliminating Atmospheric Benzene Pollution in Pasadena, TX.” Supporting Faculty: Beth DeSombre
300-level Award
Jacquelyn Cai ’22 has won a 300-level award for her NEUR 300 paper, “Exploring Probiotics and Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Two Potential Therapeutics for Alzheimer’s Disease in a Mouse Model.” Supporting Faculty: Mike Wiest
Natalie Li ’23 has won a 300-level award for her HIST 334 paper, “Taking Up the Banner of Austerity: Visions of Economic Transition on the 1970s Italian Left.” Supporting Faculty: Quinn Slobodian
Independent Study Award
Rebecca Cox ’22 has won an Independent Study Award for her ES 250 project, “Plankton of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.” Supporting Faculty: Jackie Matthes
Rebekah Hobbs ’22 has won an Independent Study Award for her PSYC 350 paper, “A comprehensive examination of associations between childhood trauma and psychosis in African Americans.” Supporting Faculty: Christen Deveney
Honorable Mention
Niamh Bayliss ’22 has won an Honorable Mention for her ES 312 paper, “Street Trees and City Planning: Exploring the Inequitable Distribution of Urban Tree Canopies Across the U.S.” Supporting Faculty: Beth DeSombre
Sarah Charpentier ’22 has won an Honorable Mention for her CAMS 302 video essay, “Decompositions: The Lifetimes, and Life-ends, of an Image.” Supporting Faculty: Codruța Morari
The winning entries will be available soon in the Wellesley College Digital Repository.
More info: Karen Storz, kstorz@wellesley.edu
