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Eliot Circular

Our Brilliant Students

Bio major Taylor Stinchcomb ’14 won the prestigious Class of ’21 Award for her thesis on the harmful effects of the weedkiller diuron on frogs and other amphibians, written under the guidance of her adviser, Prof. Robert Kaplan.

Bio major Taylor Stinchcomb ’14 won the prestigious Class of ’21 Award for her thesis on the harmful effects of the weedkiller diuron on frogs and other amphibians, written under the guidance of her adviser, Prof. Robert Kaplan.Photo by Matt D'Annunzio

Taylor Stinchcomb ’14 won the Class of ’21 Award for her thesis “Effects of the Herbicide Diuron on Multiple Life Stages of Bombina orientalis: Implications for Pesticide Use and Amphibian Conservation,” with adviser Prof. Robert Kaplan [biology 1983–]. The award, endowed by gifts from ºìÌÒÊÓƵ’s class of 1921, recognizes “creative work of a notable character, involving an unusual degree of initiative and spontaneity.”

Taylor found that diuron, one of the most commonly used weed killers in the Willamette Valley, poses serious danger to frogs and other amphibians, even at very low concentrations. “Continued unabated and indiscriminant application of diuron poses a risk to amphibian life and may threaten human health,” she concluded.

Kaplan described her research as “outstanding.” Scientists have long suspected that diuron might be an endocrine disruptor, but surprisingly little research has been conducted on its effects.

“I am humbled and honored, as you can imagine,” she wrote after learning she had won the award.

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Mackenzie Sullivan ’14 won the Edwin N. Garlan Memorial Prize in Philosophy for his thesis, “An Essay on Metaphysical Grounding,” completed with advisers Prof. Troy Cross [philosophy 2010–] and Prof. Paul Hovda [philosophy 2002–]. The award honors iconic professor Edwin Garlan [philosophy 1946–73] and recognizes outstanding scholarship in philosophy.

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The William T. Lankford III Memorial Humanities Award, established as a tribute to the accomplished scholarship and teaching of Prof. Bill Lankford [English 1977–83], is given to students who demonstrate an interest in the relationship between history and English literature. Two seniors won the award this year. 

Claire Berkowitz ’14 wrote an English thesis on Yiddish writer I.B. Singer’s two novels, Satan in Goray and Enemies: A Love Story, with adviser Prof. Marat Grinberg [Russian 2006–]. “Her thesis combines a sophisticated and detailed literary analysis with engagement with Holocaust historiography and the broader paradigms of Jewish historical responses to violence and internal upheavals. It makes an important contribution to the vast field of I.B. Singer studies,” says Prof. Laura Arnold Leibman [English 1995–]. 

Kelly Holob ’14 wrote her classics–religion thesis on the Hymns of Synesius of Cyrene with adviser Prof. Michael Foat ’86 [religion 1996–]. Kelly translated nine extremely complex hymns and masterfully placed them in the broader historical, religious, and philosophical contexts. “The translations were accurate, fluid, and beautiful, and the whole thesis was well researched and elegantly written,” notes Leibman. “It is the equivalent of a strong MA thesis.” 

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The Gerald M. Meier Award for Distinction in Economics was awarded to John Iselin ’14 for his thesis “Renewable Portfolio Standards: Examining the Effect of State Policy on Renewable Electrical Capacity” with adviser Prof. Noelwah Netusil [econ 1990–]. Gerald Meier ’47, a leading economist and professor of business and economics at Stanford, established the award in 1998.

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Three freshly minted graduates won Fulbright awards. Russian major Madeline Kinkel ’14 will teach English in Azerbaijan; German major Christopher Muñoz-Calene ’14 will teach in Germany; and French major Lukas Ovrom ’14 will conduct research on medieval French in France.

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First prize for the 2014 Mary Barnard Academy of American Poets Prize Contest was awarded to English major Hannah Fung-Wiener ’16 for her poem “Pact.” Honorable mention went to Timmy Straw ’17 for “Tundra Cinema.” The contest, sponsored by the ºìÌÒÊÓƵ English department, was judged by Paulann Petersen, former Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and Oregon’s current poet laureate. The college has endowed a $100 prize in honor of renowned poet Mary Barnard ’32 (1909–2001) for the best poem or group of poems submitted by a ºìÌÒÊÓƵ undergrad.