The Neuroscience Program values intellectual excellence by recognizing students for superior academic performance, research accomplishments, and leadership through service through a variety of awards and prizes described below.
Fredricka Stahl Senior Prize in Neuroscience
This is an annual prize awarded to one or more seniors for outstanding academic achievement in the Biology Department over the four years of college. The prize will be awarded each May at the Senior Honors Convocation, which takes place the Friday before Commencement.
- 2024 Kotryna Andriuskeviciute, Federica Bertolotti, Sophia Timm
- 2023 Ondine Berg, Ryan Osselborn
- 2022 Nia Afaro, Jenna McCaslin
- 2021 Matthew McMahon, Zoe Walts
Thomas Carr Senior Prize in Neuroscience
This is an annual prize in honor of Thomas H. Carr, a 1970 graduate of 91¿´Æ¬Íø. Dr. Carr is a long-time Professor of Psychology at Michigan State University where he works in the Department of Psychology’s Program in Cognition and Cognitive Neuroscience. His research focuses on perceptual recognition, attention, and the executive control of complex skills and the cognitive and neural processes that comprise skilled performances. The Carr Prize in Neuroscience will be an annual award of $250. The recipient(s), chosen in consultation with the Chair of the Neuroscience program and the Dean of Faculty, will be a graduating neuroscience major or minor whose intellectual excellence and potential for professional contributions is reflected by outstanding academic performance combined with the pursuit of superior undergraduate scholarship in neuroscience. The prize will be awarded each May at the Senior Honors Convocation, which takes place the Friday before Commencement.
- 2024 Ying Han, Maria Jose Orozco Fuentes
- 2023 Amanda Grassel, Kamden Kuklinski
- 2022 Nathaniel Kregar, Desire Nalukwago Uwera
- 2021 Carris Borland & Lexi Dejneka
- 2020: Ruqia Bibi & Brett Palmero
- 2019: Yoan Ganev & Eliska Mrackova
- 2018: Paul Jones & Pegah Nabili
- 2017: Emily Ong & Peyton Schrag
- 2016: Khadijah Hamid & Kayla Huber
- 2015: Maiwase Tembo
- 2014: Amanda Allred
- 2013: Natalie Kukulka
- 2012: Sydni Cole & Madhavi Senagolage
Nu Rho Psi Senior Leadership and Service Award
This is an annual prize awarded to one or more seniors for outstanding leadership through service to the neuroscience program community over the four years of college. Members of Nu Rho Psi nominate seniors (must be graduating with a major or minor) and the program faculty selects from these nominees. The recipient(s) do not need to members of Nu Rho Psi. The award is presented during the annual Nu Rho Psi induction ceremony held at the end of spring semester, each academic year.
- 2024 Olivia Godek, Lorena Monroy, Raneem Samman
- 2023 Megi Diasamidze, Amanda Grassel, Kamden Kuklinski
- 2022 Carolynn Boatfield, Jessica Day, Katrina Topacio
- 2021 Leslie, Gonzales, Estella Tcaturian, Yesenia Uribe
- 2020: Danielle Berninzoni, Ruqia Bibi, Alexsandra Biel
- 2019: Yoan Ganev, Eliska Mrackova, & Danielle Sychowski
- 2018: Alexandra Skoczek, Aasimah Tanveer, & Rosemary Thomas
- 2017: Logan Graham & Lily Veldran
- 2016: Sarah Chiren
- 2015: Maiwase Tembo & Cecilia Reyes
- 2014: Katrina Campbell & Anhar Mohamed
- 2013: Kimberly Diah
Honors in the Major
Honors at graduation in the student’s major are based on a clear demonstration of superior mastery of the subject and on the ability to successfully complete a senior thesis. To receive honors in the major, a student must have attained a 3.5 GPA in all courses taken in the major at 91¿´Æ¬Íø, including the final semester. A minimum of six courses must have been taken in the major at the College. A student must be evaluated as having successfully completed a senior thesis. In exceptional circumstances when a senior thesis seems inappropriate, a well-documented senior research project or imaginative creative project brought to fruition in the senior year may be substituted for the senior thesis. The request for such a substitution must be initiated by the project director and requires the unanimous approval of the members of the department(s) involved. As with other theses, the final project will be reviewed by a thesis examining committee consisting of three faculty, at least one from outside the department. Please note that completing a senior seminar will not result in honors in the major.
- 2024: Federica Bertolotti, Ying Han, Rose Jasmin Montes, Ama Owusu-Ofori, Maria Jose Orozco Fuentes, Rebecca Ray, Raneem Samman
- 2023: Allison Coffell, Amanda Grassel, Kamden Kuklinski, Tracey Nassuna
- 2021: Matt McMahon
- 2020: Brett Palmero, Sam Gascoigne, & Aiden Houcek
- 2019: Yoan Ganev, Abagayle King, & Eliska Mrackova
- 2018: Michael Janeçek, Paul Jones, Pegah Nabili, & Rosemary Thomas
- 2017: Emily Ong
- 2016: Sarah Chiren, Kayla Huber, & Hannah Samberg
- 2015: Maiwase Tembo
- 2014: Amanda Allred
- 2013: Natalie Kukulka
- 2012: Sydni Cole & Daniela Brutman
Distinction in Senior Thesis
If a student’s senior thesis is judged by an examining committee to be an outstanding and original piece of research, Distinction in Senior Thesis is awarded at graduation regardless of whether the student is graduating with honors in his or her major field of study. In exceptional circumstances, a well-documented senior research project or imaginative creative project may substitute for the senior thesis provided members of the departments
involved give their unanimous approval. As with other theses, the final project will be reviewed by a thesis examining committee consisting of three faculty, at least one from outside the department.
- 2024 Federica Bertolotti, Ying Han, Rose Jasmin Montes, Maria Jose Orozco Fuentes, Ama Owusu-Ofori, Rebecca Ray, Raneem Samman
- 2023 Allison Coffell, Amanda Grassel, Kamden Kuklinski, Tracey Nassuna
- 2022 Nathaniel Kregar
- 2021 Matt McMahon
- 2020: Brett Palmero, Sam Gascoigne, & Aiden Houcek
- 2019: Yoan Ganev, Abagayle King, & Eliska Mrackova
- 2018: Michael Janeçek, Paul Jones, Pegah Nabili, & Rosemary Thomas
- 2017: Emily Ong
- 2016: Sarah Chiren, Kayla Huber, & Hannah Samberg
- 2015: Maiwase Tembo
- 2014: Amanda Allred
- 2013: Natalie Kukulka, Kimberly Diah, & Ashley Reich
- 2012: Sydni Cole & Daniela Brutman
Nu Rho Psi (the national neuroscience academic honorary)
To be invited to join the 91¿´Æ¬Íø chapter of this academic honorary, undergraduate students shall have completed at least nine college courses of the college curriculum (equivalent of three semesters, including transfer and AP credits), be registered for major or minor standing in neuroscience, have completed three courses towards the major/minor, have a minimum grade point average of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, and have a minimum grade point average of 3.5 in neuroscience courses.
2027: Kate Feist, Fiona Oberhofer
2026: Martha Alatorre Martinez, Marcelo Camba Almazan, Candence Dempsey, Monique Kirzo, Holly Kiernan, Jeremy Levin, Aaron Oster, Ekaterine Priovolos, Ashley Ramirez
2025: Teresa dos Santos Louro Alves Fernand, Elma Choi, Cecilia Flores, Sebastian Gacek, Nilufar Imomdodova, Hridey Kapoor, Isiah Moonlight, Daniel Tulchinskiy
2024: Kotryna Andriuskeviciute, Katarzyna Barton, Federica Bertolotti, Margaret Boersma, Alex Fayn, Maria Jose Orozco Fuentes, Olivia Godek, Ying Han, Riley Komp, Lorena Monroy, Rose Jasmin Montes, Ama Owusu-Ofori, Suma Pasupulati, Andrianina Rakotondronaro, Rebecca Ray, Raneem Samman, Makayla Sanchez, Danielle Selby, Ilona Sergeeva, Michelle Soriano, Lauren Steidl, Sophia Timm, Bryce Zabat
2023: Deniz Akpinar, Bita Aslrousta, Ondine Berg, Benjamin Bitterman, Helena Blumenau, Allison Coffell, Megi Diasamidze, Elena Chrisman, Ayesha Fatima, Amanda Grassel, Katelyn Holstein, Danae Lazarou, Noah Mueller, Tracey Nasssuna, Alyssa Silva, Hannah Turnage, Gabrielle Vineyard
2022: Nia Slfsro, Jessica Day, Sydni Foley, Andrew Forrest, Kealey Hu,phrey, Bilal Khan, Barry Khim, Josephine Klein, Aleksandra Kulesza, Kamden Kuklinski, Jenna McCaslin, Ryan Osselborn, Katrina Topacio, Yeshi Tshering, Jessica Teichman, Desire Nalukwago Uwera
2021: Carris Borland, Nolan Carothers, Alexandra Dejneka, Blakely Drake, Leslie Gonzales, Dana Midani, Kang Ryul Min, Matthew McMahon, Bari Mohammed, Grace Monshausen, Maddie Strejc, Estella Tcaturian, Yesenia Uribe, Zoe Walts
2020: Niam Abeysiriwardena, Omar Alrawashdeh, Ariane Balaram, Danielle Berninzoni, Alexsandra Biel, Sandra Campos, Nena Fasbender, Sam Gascoigne, Lauren Giurini, Aiden Houcek, Emma Kuhr, Brett Palmero
2019: Elizabeth Bacon, Ruqia Bibi, Cade Brittain, Sam Curry, Olivia Dellomodarme, Kendra Fobert, Philip Freund, Catherine Harding, Nicole Hedger, Abagayle King, Eliska Mrackova, Chisomo Mwale, Rebecca Shoup
2018: Sarah Applebey, Grant Brady, Trevor Buhr, Michael Janeçek, Schuyler Kogan, Emma Levine, Junya Li, Pegah Nabili, Luke Shylanski, Alexandra Skoczek, Parth Tank, Aasimah Tanveer, Rosemary Thomas
2017: Joseph Bortollotti, Logan Graham, Malia Hansen, Ana McCracken, Emily Ong, Peyton Schrag, Sierra Smith
2016: Saul Bello Rojas, Sarah Chiren, Rachel Granberg, Khadijah Hamid, Heather Heitkotter, Kayla Huber, Jyothis James, Cassandra McCray, Maribel Munoz, Ruby Ortiz, Alexandra Roman, Hannah Samberg
2015: Peter Nesper, Cecelia Reyes, Maegen Schultz, Maiwase Tembo, Natalie Zemela
2014: Amanda Allred, Katrina Campbell, Victoria Egedus, Rida Khan, Megan Joy Escanilla
2013: Natalie Kukulka
2012: Sydni Cole, Daniela Brutman, Madhavi Senagolage, Annielise Szutenbach
The Robert B. Glassman Prize in Psychology and Neuroscience
The recipient of the Robert B. Glassman Prize in Psychology and Neuroscience, chosen in consultation with the Chair and members of the Psychology Department/Neuroscience Program, as well as the Dean of Faculty, will be a graduating senior who embodies Bob’s intellectual curiosity and interdisciplinary approach to the scientific study of the mind or brain. It is awarded at the Senior Honors Convocation.
2024
Rebecca Ray, Lauren Steidl
2023
Helena Blumenau & Tracey Nassuna
2021
Leslie Gonzales & Madison Strejc
2020
Alexsandra Biel
2019
Rebecca Shoup
2018
Sarah Applebey
2017
Kristina Karapetyan
2016
Belen Martinez-Caro Aguado