Annual Awards & Prizes

Fiona Dubay is an accomplished student who was a particularly active member of the SciMath Community. Fiona took a great variety of SciMath courses, including many courses in Biology, Computer Science, and Environmental Scienc. She served as a Learning Commons tutor for Environmental Data and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology courses and as a van driver for environmental science courses and fieldwork in other disciplines. She also served on search committee for faculty hires and as an unofficial campus tour guide for visiting researchers. Fiona integrated her interests in Environmental Science and Computer Science to work on data analysis projects related to climate change and flooding in New York City - a topic that became particularly salient as the region experienced repeated severe flood events during her time at college.  She served as a New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) Undergraduate Fellow for three summers and developed many of the maps and graphics used in the NPCC Flooding report. She also served as a research intern for the Town-Gown Collaborative New York City Climate Vulnerability, Impacts and Adaptation (VIA) Study during her senior year.  We are delighted to award Fiona the 2024 Edward Cogan Prize for Mathematics and Science.

  – Bernice Rosenzweig, Faculty in Environmental Science

"Surreal and tactile, these poems are personal and close while extending themselves out into impossibility and disrupted time." –Chessy Normile, Judge

"The poems in this manuscript tell vivid and magical tales in a confident tone. The narrative voice across all three poems feels like it is of a legendary, immortal being recounting their most intimate history. I relished in these songs about the self, the body, and secrets." –Emily Jungmin Yoon, Judge

Junior Zaria Katz was awarded the Ian Lipkin ’74 Science Prize to conduct bioinformatics research on the diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy under the mentorship of Dr. Ross Parker. In her time at Sarah Lawrence, Zaria has developed a passion for bioinformatics, especially when applied to data related to medical information and diabetes. Her goal for this research project is to develop a machine learning program capable of analyzing medical imagery related to diabetic retinopathy, a condition that manifests in discoloration of the retina, which can cause blindness for diabetics. Following this summer project, Zaria will begin her coursework at Columbia University, as part of their 3-2 Biomedical Engineering program. – The Ian Lipkin ’74 Science Prize Committee: Colin Abernethy, Merideth Frey, Bernice Rosenzweig, and Cecilia Toro

For their ability to write intense dramatic scenes in settings that are sometimes surreal and dreamlike, and sometimes grittily realistic, as well as their magical aesthetic that pushes the boundaries of the stage, the David Lindsay-Abaire Award goes to Cayden Learey. – The Sarah Lawrence Theatre Faculty

Madison Barnes’s insightful essay, “The Last Whispers of Immutable Clay: Linear A and Returning Language to the Unspoken,” explores the challenges but also argues for the necessity of translating the ancient Minoan script known as Linear A. Demonstrating sophisticated research and a robust engagement with both historical methodologies and translation theory, the essay offers a useful review of strategies for decoding unknown scripts and emphasizes what we might learn about ancient civilizations by taking serious consideration of their languages. -- Gillian Adler, Literature Faculty, and Roy Ben-Shai, Philosophy Faculty

Jake Lunn’s essay, “The Love of God and its Relation to the Third Kind of Knowledge in Spinoza,” advances a bold and original thesis, arguing for an interconnection between two key distinctions in the philosopher’s work—an epistemological distinction between kinds of knowledge and an ethical distinction between kinds of love. With argumentative clarity and an impressive command of the nuances of Spinoza’s Ethics and the contemporary literature about it, the essay makes a helpful contribution to our understanding and ongoing appreciation of this canonical text.-- Gillian Adler, Literature Faculty, and Roy Ben-Shai, Philosophy Faculty

"These poems are rangy and wide-- containing deep feeling and observation, they turn misunderstanding and self-correction into revelatory surprise.”– Chessy Normile, Judge

"Full of lush, gorgeous lines and insightful self-discoveries, these poems meditate on gender, identity, love, and language, all with careful introspection, tenderness, and lyricism. The skill with which the author uses formal variation and literary devices such as repetition demonstrates a strong sense of craft and intention, as well as affection for the poetic genre." –Emily Jungmin Yoon, Judge

Izzy Hardin (they/them) is a focused, accomplished manager who has worked in a number of facets of the Sarah Lawrence Theatre production department. Izzy has produced and developed programming for Downstage, stage managed for courses and SLC Theatre productions (most recently the musical, Spring Awakening), and produced and managed for the Musical Theatre Ensemble and Melancholy Players. Outside of SLC Izzy has worked as an assistant stage manager at the Oxford Playhouse, and a set and props manager at the Burton Taylor Studio. Izzy will be attending the University of Oxford in the fall to pursue a master’s degree in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and hopes to do more stage management with the theatre companies there as well. They are a great liaison between the program and students, and it has been a pleasure to watch them grow and refine their distinct management style. – The Sarah Lawrence Theatre Faculty

Rachel Palmer (they/them) is a highly effective, approachable manager who has taken advantage of a wide variety of production opportunities and used them to grow and thrive as a generous, organized leader. Here at Sarah Lawrence Rachel has produced and stage managed for Downstage, served as a stage manager for SLC Theatre and Musical Theatre Ensemble, and acted as Production Manager for the MFA Thesis festival. Outside of SLC Rachel has worked as a stage manager for Broadway Upstate, and as Associate Company Manager for the Adirondack Theatre Festival. This summer, Rachel will be returning to Adirondack Theatre Festival for their Summer '24 season as the Company Manager, and will also stage manage a developmental reading, Worth: An Intimate Exhibition, written and performed by Jessica Frances Duke. Rachel leads with sincerity and professionalism and their subtle, honest approach translates into a highly effective management style. – The Sarah Lawrence Theatre Faculty

"These narrative, lyric poems build towards metaphorical transformation, the teeth becoming nervous horses, the speaker turning into a moth in the dark." – Chessy Normile, Judge

"This playful yet dark poem deftly illustrates the precarity of a night out for "we girls." I was on the edge of my seat the whole poem, as the girls in the poem sat on their own seats feeling and fielding men's desires. By the end, as the girls emerge from the "alleyway," we are left uneasy and unsure of whether they have escaped danger, or they are carrying a sense or experience of violence and violation inside them." – Emily Jungmin Yoon, Judge

"These direct and quiet poems speak from the bone, the orange, the iron water-- they resonate with an emotional clarity of vision.” – Chessy Normile, Judge