Winners

McKinney Writing Contest Winners 2024

Undergraduate Poetry

First Prize: “Red Mail Theory,” Nyah Philip, Environmental Engineering

Second Prize: "Home," Phoebe Demers, Biomedical Engineering

Third Prize: “The Mushroom," Annika Seeley, Environmental Science

Honorable Mentions:

“Untitled (Moon Jellies),” Gwen Moyer

"This is What I Saw,” Armond Welch

"Police Sirens," Emily Huyhua

 

Graduate Poetry

First Prize: “I don't visit Pennsylvania much anymore.../"First Frost,” Nathaniel Smith, Biochemistry and Biophysics (PhD)

Second Prize: “How to Not Be Well,” Allie E.S. Wist, Electronic Media Arts (PhD)

Third Prize: "Closer,” Shannon Clark, Cognitive Science (co-term)

Honorable Mentions:

“The Crimson Winter," Ankit Kumar Upadhyay, Computer Science (PhD)

“Breathe,” Tim Lund

 

Undergraduate Creative Prose & Drama

First Prize: “Define,” Phoebe Demers, Biomedical Engineering

Second Prize: “A Moonbeam Summoning,”Elena Haase, Biochemistry/Biophysics

Third Prize: “Legends from Hallow,” Annabelle Eugui, Games Simulation Arts and Sciences/ Music dual major

Honorable Mentions:

“Snowblind,” Dylan Liriano

"Beneath the Baobab Tree," Xiomara Jean-Louis

 

Graduate Creative Prose & Drama

First Prize: “Demon of Flowers,” Matthew Hlady, Critical Game Design (PhD)

Second Prize: “An Imaginary Expedition,” Ankit Kumar Upadhyay, Computer Science (PhD)

Third Prize: "Deep Blue," Tim Lund (they/them), Mathematics (PhD)

Honorable Mentions

"The Midnight Train," Shannon Clark

"A New Life: A Haibun," Cliff Watson

 

Undergraduate Academic Essay

First Prize: "Sad Hawaii Bar," Mattaya Gibbs,  Communication, Media and Design

Second Prize: "The Moral Dilemma of the Space Race," Hannah Nardini, Chemical Engineering

Third Prize: "Effective Altruism," E. Camila Kulahlioglu, ITWS

Honorable Mentions

"We Need Freedom Too: How Lemonade and to Pimp A Butterfly Shine a Light on the Depiction of Black Trauma Through Art," Kodi Ezegbo

"Encanto's Enchantment," Amani Dinar

 

Graduate Academic Essay

First Prize: "Spectral Ruins," Hans Tursack, Electronic Arts (PhD)

 

Undergraduate Electronic Media

First Prize: “The Trade,” Gwen Moyer, Games Simulation Arts and Sciences/ Electronic Arts dual major

Second Prize: “Within Boundaries,” Emily Huyhua, Electronic Arts

Honorable Mention

“Dreaming of Crows,” Noah Joseph Arzoumanian, Communication, Media, and Design

 

Graduate Electronic Media

First Prize: “Hello. hEllo! heLLo? hellO,” Jason Choi, Electronic Arts (PhD)

Second Prize: “Endings,” Cliff Watson, Communication and Rhetoric (PhD)

Third Prize: "A Strange Loop is Weirdly Weird," Allie E. S. Wist, Electronic Media Arts (PhD)

Honorable Mention

“One Step Further,” Justin Beurgi

 

Undergraduate Mixed Genre: Language and Empowerment

First Prize: “Liberation of Eve," Ahnalese Pearson, Communication, Media, and Design

Second Prize: “Little Bird,” Neha Thurai, Biology

Third Prize: “Bad Clothes,” Nia Madeline Heermance, Mathematics/Music dual major

Honorable Mention

"These Strange Birds," Nyah Philip

 

 

 

Accordion

Previous Years

2023

Undergraduate Poetry

First Prize: “Birthright,” Phoebe Demers, Biomedical Engineering

Second Prize: "Paprika isn’t real," Mattaya Gibbs, Communication, Media, and Design

Third Prize: “Jenna,"  Nyah Philip, Environmental Engineering

 

Honorable Mentions:

“Things Unrelated to Bond Polarity: A Fleeting Molecular Moment,” Alysa Fitch, Sustainability Studies/ Communication, Media, & Design

“Mango Pit,” Anya Jewell, Physics

 

Graduate Poetry

First Prize: “Spicy Food,” Nathan Smith, Biochemistry and Biophysics (PhD)

Second Prize: “Wastelanding,” Allie E.S. Wist, Electronic Media Arts (PhD)

Third Prize: "letter of resignation as your Emotional Support Daughter,” Maggie Mang, Science and Technology Studies (PhD)

 

Honorable Mentions:

“Couched in Deux Languages," Cliff Watson, Communication and Rhetoric (PhD)

“Letter to My Fellow Monster,” Gabriel Medina-Kim, Science and Technology Studies (PhD)

 

Undergraduate Creative Prose & Drama

First Prize: “Two Shards of the Rearview Mirror,” Anjali Shinde, Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology

Second Prize: “White Noise,” Allie Labrecque, Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering

Third Prize: “Nora Ephron's Key Lime Pie,” Ahnalese Pearson, Communication, Media, and Design

 

Honorable Mention:

“Disk Jockey,” Brailyn King, Aeronautical Engineering

 

Graduate Creative Prose & Drama

First Prize: “On the impossibility of purity in compromised spaces or How would one react upon slaughtering chickens?” Maggie Mang, Science and Technology Studies (PhD)

Second Prize: “Souls and Other Fleeting Things” Elizabeth Nelligan, Business Administration

Third Prize: "A Cancer On This City," Matthew Hlady, Critical Game Design (PhD)

 

Undergraduate Academic Essay

First Prize: "North American Red Fox Rabies Immunity Gene Drive for Safer (Sub)Urban Rewilding," Vixey Foxwish Douglas,  Computer Science

Second Prize: "Haiti is Dead and God Killed Her: Investigating the Theological Underpinnings of International Finance, Intervention, and Sovereignty in Haiti," Xiomara Jean-Louis, Sustainability Studies/ Economics

Third Prize: "Blurring Life and Death Through Mourning in The Nickel Boys," Alysa Fitch, Sustainability Studies/ Communication, Media, and Design

 

Honorable Mentions

“Silly Love Songs or Something Great?: The Impact Of Popularity On The Perceived Legitimacy Of Pop Musicians," Shannon Clark,  Psychological Science

"American Elitism and Tokenism," Sadie Ehrenberg; Mathematics/Management

 

Graduate Academic Essay

First Prize: "Thank you for the Content,"  Chris Althoff, Media and Communication 

Second Prize: "Games for Consideration and Consideration for Games," Matthew Hlady, Critical Game Design

Third Prize: "Invited In, Asked To Stay, Welcomed Back,"  Meg Von Seggern, Communication and Rhetoric (PhD)

 

Undergraduate Electronic Media Using Language

First Prize: “Embodied,” Emma Abercrombie, Biology/Communication, Media, and Design

Second Prize: “Why I Write Comics,” Sofia Russo, Biology/Cognitive Science (co-term)

Third Prize: “Nth Degree Fever,” Trent Welch, Communication, Media, and Design

 

Mixed Genre: Language and Empowerment

First Prize: “How to Crack a Breastbone” (and other poems), Nyah Philip, Environmental Engineering

Second Prize: “Say Hello To Your Sister,” Sydney Stojkovic, Electronic Arts

Third Prize: “1312 Taboo St.,” Laura Zwirn, Mechanical Engineering

 

Honorable Mentions

“Forced Into Misandry,” Mattaya Gibbs, Communication, Media, and Design

"Micah," Grace Perincheril, Psychological Science/Communication, Media, and Design

2022

Undergraduate Poetry

First Prize: "Self Poem," Lisa Knuckey, Math/Computer Science

Second Prize: "Anti-Queer Nuclear Fear, 2022 Is Not the Year," Harshil Patel, Mechanical Engineering/Economics

Third Prize: “Snow,” Gwen Moyer, GSAS

 

Graduate Poetry

First Prize: "A Recipe for Nonhuman Companionship," Allie E.S. Wist, Electronic Media Arts (PhD)

 

Undergraduate Fiction/Drama

First Prize: "Move Forward," Max Nigogosyan, GSAS

Second Prize: “A Trap of Talons,” Hannah Fried, Physics/Electrical Engineering

Third Prize: “We Are Killers” Lily Wood, Architecture

 

Graduate Fiction/Drama

First Prize: “Better to Burn It All Away,” Matthew Hlady, Critical Game Design (PhD)

Second Prize: "Elder K'naarck's Epic of Creation," Jawica Carpentier, Critical Game Design (Masters)

Third Prize: “The Only Past is Now,” N. Bucky Stanton, Science & Technology Studies (PhD)

 

Undergraduate Essay/Creative Nonfiction

First Prize: “Architectural Ambiguities in the Gothic,” J. Hoggan, Architecture

Second Prize: “In the Kitchen,” Emma Shark, Mechanical Engineering

Third Prize: “Humans, Soil, and Ecology,” Hannah Price, Economics/Sustainability Studies/ Economics

 

Honorable Mentions

“A Sequence Along the Descending Depths of Disconnection"; Jessica James; Communications, Media, and Design

“Legally Blonde: The Influence of Elle Woods on Education”; Ahnalese Pearson; Communications, Media, and Design

 

Undergraduate Electronic Media Using Language

First Prize: "We Were Silenced," Jordan Jackson, Building Sciences/Design,Innovation, and Technology

Second Prize: "Give My Regards to My Cousin (and The Ox)," Sofia Russo, Biology

Third Prize: “Hiraeth” Amatullah Kose, Architecture

 

2022 Special Contest: Language and Empowerment

First Prize: “No Doubt: A Poem About Black Resiliency,” Nyah Philip, Environmental Engineering

Second Prize: “Painting Dandelions,” Anjali Shinde, Bioinformatics/Molecular Biology

 

2022 Winner Bios

Jawica Carpentier grew up surrounded by forests and swamps. They are looking to become a game artist who creates living worlds for people to enjoy.

Hannah Fried is from Queens, in New York City. She cherishes the outlet for expression that writing fiction provides.

J. Hoggan hopes to specialize in restoration, while perhaps finding time to write historically accurate fantasy. 

Matt Hlady has a B.A. in English and another in Western Laws & Ethics from UMass Amherst. Writing stories is the closest he can get to playing god, but he's pretty happy with that.

Jordan Jackson is a dual major in Building Sciences and Design, Innovation, and Society. She enjoys applying her visual thinking through graphic recording and visual sense-making.

Jessica James is from New York and she plans to pursue a career in design.

Amatullah Kose plans to go to graduate school for Civil Engineering and wants to work designing public spaces that help communities flourish.

Lisa Knuckey is currently a senior, originally from New Jersey. They plan to write software user documentation or, should worse come to worst, code.

Gwen Moyer is originally from Boston, Mass. She has a passion for visual arts, music, and creative writing, which she aims to implement as strong elements in the games she designs and works on. 

Max Nigogosyan is a writer, game designer, and 3D artist. He plans to find new ways to tell stories through these different types of media.

Harshil Patel is a multiracial brown Asian American Muslim from Long Island, New York. He plans to start a civic organization dedicated to addressing the needs of marginalized communities through technological solutions and grassroots political action.

Ahnalese Pearson is from Upstate New York. She plans to teach literature and writing.

Nyah Philip is from Canada. She wants to explore renewable energy in hopes for a more sustainable future.

Hannah Price is a junior from Pittsburgh, PA who is passionate about sustainability initiatives, social research, and public policy. Hannah is a member of the Our Soil research team, which is an international and interdisciplinary citizen science soil study which inspired this essay. She is a member of the RPI Women's Hockey team.

Sofia Russo is a Junior from New York. She is planning on pursuing medicine. She enjoys making comics and writing on the side.

Emma Shark is from California. In addition to her engineering studies she journals fastidiously and paints for fun.

Anjali Shinde hopes to help people through both her neurological research and her love for writing. 

N. Bucky Stanton's dissertation investigates natural and cultural resource extraction in the Peloponnese, exploring the history and politics of archaeology, energy, and modernity in Greece.

Allie E.S. Wist is a first year PhD student focusing on sensory studies, environmental humanities, and the Anthropocene. She has an MA in Food Studies from New York University and a BA in Media from Boston University. She worked as a writer and photographer in food media for over a decade, and she has taught at NYU and The New School.

Lily Wood is passionate about writing as a communication skill. She is in her third year of office running RPI's creative writing club, Comma.

 

 

 

 

2021

McKinney Writing Contest Winners 2021

Undergraduate Poetry

First Prize: "Black Vagabonds," Nyah Philip, Environmental Engineering

Second Prize: "Spring, Autumn, " Jimmy Jin, GSAS

Third Prize: “Almost,” Varenya Gade, Biology

 

Graduate Poetry

First Prize: "Deathbed Rhapsody," Jamie Steele, Science and Technology Studies

Second Prize: "Do you remember (II)," Mitch Cieminski, Science and Technology Studies

Third Prize: "Childhood," Adrian Campbell-Riives

 

Undergraduate Electronic Media Using Language

First Prize: "Reversed Guins," Brian Tsuji, Industrial Engineering

Second Prize: "The Ride," Carmen Perez, Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication

Third Prize: “Be Better,” Ayesha Ayesha, Architecture

 

Undergraduate Fiction/Drama

First Prize: "Onychophora (velvet worms)," Boden Whalen, Biochemistry/Biophysics

Second Prize: “A History of Yarn,” Jacqueline Ray, Biomedical Engineering

Third Prize: “Different, Worse,” Carmen Perez, Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication

 

Graduate Fiction/Drama

First Prize: “A Hundred Years of Excessive YouTube Company,” Elkin Alejandro Cruz Camacho, Science and Technology Studies

Second Prize: “Einherjar,” Charles McCabe, Chemistry

Third Prize: “Lasting Logics,”, N. Bucky Stanton, Science & Technology Studies

 

Undergraduate Essay/Creative Nonfiction

First Prize [Tie]: “Culinary Corruption: How Fusion Food Threatens Authentic Ethnic Cuisines,” Divya Mohanraj, Biology

First Prize [Tie]: “The Expression of Femininity in Bechdel’s Fun Home and Morrison’s The Bluest Eye,” Shannon Clark, Psychological Science

Second Prize [Tie]: “Shifting Fantastical Reality: A Literary Criticism of George Saunders’ ‘Sea Oak,’” Chelsea Bovell, Computer Science

Second Prize [Tie]: “Nason Garden: A Space for Growth, Exploration and Discovery,” Jasmine Joshi, Biomedical Engineering

Third Prize[Tie]: “Rosemary Kennedy: How One Tragic Story Changed the Fate of the Disabled Community Forever,” Hannah Price, Sustainability Studies/ Economics

Third Prize[Tie]: “A Hairy Moment,” Cooper Urban, Biology/ Economics

 

Honorable Mentions

“The Last Sundae,” Jared Zornitzer

“The Monster: An Analysis of LGBTQ+ Characters in Horror Films,” Carmen Perez

 

2020

McKinney Writing Contest Winners  2020

Undergraduate Poetry

First Prize:  “Sea Sickness,” Boden Whalen, Biochemistry/Biophysics

Second Prize: “coconut husk,” Hazelle Lerum, Science & Technology Studies

Third Prize:  “Katie Flor,” Chunym Yang, Materials Science Engineering AND

Third Prize:  “Terms of Surrender,” Jeremiah Malenfant, Geology and E & ES

Honorable Mentions:

“Denoument,” Tara Azam, Biochemistry/Biophysics

“ “, Gavriel Zahavi, Computer Science

“Pink Plastic Tricycle,” Isaac Thompson, Mathematics

Graduate Poetry

First Prize: Eight Poems, Hayley McCullough, Communication & Media

 

Undergraduate Electronic Media Using Language

First Prize:  “Orys,” Kaitlyn Briscoe, EARTS & Communication & Media (CMD?)

Second Prize: “Party Game,”  Simon Hopkins, GSAS/ Computer Science

Third Prize:  “Resolute, Sarah Elaine Mirekua, GSAS/ EARTS

Honorable Mention: “Gaze,” Carmen Perez, Electronic Media Arts and Communication/ Communication and Media

Graduate Electronic Media Using Language

First Prize:  “For Vanessa,” Van Tran Nguyen, Arts

 

Undergraduate Fiction/Drama

First Prize:  “Search History,” Logan Harris, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

Second Prize: “Lines,” Rachel E. Mailhot, Games, Simulations, Arts, & Sciences

Third Prize:  “Gazing at Flowers,” Kunyuan Liu, Computer Science/ Mathematics

Graduate Fiction/Drama

First Prize: “Rupture,” Nathaniel Stanten, Science and Technology Studies

Second Prize: “Frankenstein Party,” Elkin Cruz-Camacho, ECSE

 

Undergraduate Essay/Creative Nonfiction

First Prize:  “Lilap Song,” John Salvucci, Biochemistry/Biophysics

Second Prize: “The Engineer,” Molly Cunningham, Geology

Third Prize: “Feet,” Molly Wolford, Information Technology and Web Science

Honorable Mention:  “Experiencing the Opioid Epidemic,” Alexander Rogan Zangari, Science and Technology Studies

Honorable Mention: “The Tale of an Iris,” Mark Neri, Business and Management

Honorable Mention, “Portraits (If I Could Whisper Advice to the Stars),” Lisa Knuckey, Computer Science/ Mathematics

Honorable Mention: “Fuzzy Teeth,” Hazelle Lerum, Science and Technology Studies

Graduate Essay/Creative Nonfiction

First Prize:  “On Refusing Acts of Enclosure,” Maggie Mang, Science & Technology Studies

Second Prize:  “Half Pantheon,” Maxwell Montemagno, Information Technology and Web Science

Third Prize:  “Intolerable Truths,” April Alfieri, Biology

2019

Undergraduate Poetry:

First Prize

  • Hazelle Lerum, Science and Technology Studies, for “grandma’s in charge of the guts”

Second Prize

  • LaKissa Martin, Civil Engineering, for “Warrior’s Land”

Third Prize [TIE]

  • Joseph Vidal, Physics, for “Silver Shoe”
  • Sage Freter, Civil Engineering, for “Quiet Noises”

Fourth Prize (TIE)

  • Tabitha Earls, Economics and HASS, for “I Want”
  • Zacharia Spurier, Bioinformatics, for “Xq28-The Gene”
  • Portia Yin, Computer Science and Communication, for “Schoolhouse Haunt"

Graduate Poetry

First Prize

  • Jamie Steele, Science and Technology Studies, for “What being am I if not a mother?”

Second Prize

  • Tessabella Magliochetti, Biomedical Engineering, for “Planted”

Third prize

  • Jaden Wright,  Industrial Engineering, for “Annie 411”

Undergraduate Fiction and Drama

First Prize

  • Jay Franklin, Computer Science, for “Jigsaw”

Second Prize

  • Maria Salmon, Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences and Communication, for “orange n white”

Third Prize

Four writers who collaborated:

  • James Laks, Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences
  • Dan Gay, Computer Science
  • Corwin Ruggiero, Electronic Arts  and
  • Dylan Bockelman, Games and Simulation Arts and Science, for “Lovely, Lovely Larceny”

Fourth Prize

Four writers who collaborated:

  • Brad Baker, Chemical Engineering
  • Lucy Belden, Electronic Media Arts and Communication
  • Michael Murphy, Mechanical Engineering  and
  • Lauren Tebeau, Computers and Systems Engineering, for “Safety and Sabotage” 

Graduate Fiction and Drama

The judges made no awards in this category.

Undergraduate Essay/Creative Nonfiction

First Prize

  • Lisa Knuckey, Electrical Engineering, for “What Is Small?

Second Prize

  • Alexa Orosz, Electronic Media Arts and Communication and Computer Science, for “Workout Plan”

Third Prize

  • Tiffani Szeto, Biology and Psychological Science, for “Lemonaid”

Fourth prize (TIE)

  • Christina van Hal, Mathematics, for “Have Fun”
  • Logan Witt, Electronic Media Arts and Communication and Psychological Science, for “Peanuts”

Graduate Essay/Creative Nonfiction:

First Prize

  • Lauren Gasior, Geology, Earth and Environmental Sciences, for “Sunflower”

Second Prize

  • Allison Bannister, Communication and Rhetoric, for “A Fairytale Box of Thermochromic Fragments: Comics Materiality, Theory and Praxis”

Third Prize

  • Third prize, Jessie House, Psychological Science, for “A Wednesday in July”

Undergraduate Electronic Media:

First prize

  • Ziqing Wang, Computer Science and Electronic Arts, for “The Truth”

Second Prize (TIE)

  • Julia Krawiec, Electronic Arts and Games Simulation Arts and Sciences, for “The Witch’s Demon”
  • Haruka Liu,  Architecture, “Noontime CatLassRoom”

Graduate Electronic Media:

First Prize  

  • Igraine Perkinson, HASS and Electronic Arts, for “Texto.”
2018

UNDERGRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Hazelle Lerum, Science, Technology and Society, for “Seven Attempts”

Second Prize

  • Zachariah Spurrier, Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, for “Test 3”

Third Prize

  • Zoe Westwater, Mechanical Engineering, for “Holy Grain”

Honorable Mentions

  • Ankit Juneja, Biology, for “Exploration 4”
  • Ezekiel Sherbourne, Chemistry, for “Seaside”
  • Cody Seipp, Architecture, for “You Up”

GRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Angela Beallor, Electronic Arts, for “Celebration”

Honorable Mention

  • Ainsley Pinkowitz, Materials Science and Engineering, for “Grief”

UNDERGRADUATE SHORT FICTION AND DRAMA

First Prize (TIE)

  • Jacob Kaplan, Computer Science, for “Molvakia” and for “In An Airport”:
  • Wailana Chan, Electrical Engineering
  • Kirk Melhuish, Electronic Arts
  • Sam Suite, Computer Science and GSAS
  • Clay Tilton, Civil Engineering
  • Eileen Yao, Computer Science

Second Prize

  • Maeve Tucker, Civil Engineering, for “Weekend Plans”

Third Prize (TIE)

  • Ellis D. Tammelleo, Civil Engineering, for “The Reserve”
  • Gabriel Gray, GSAS, for “The Assistant”

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY AND CREATIVE NONFICTION

First Prize

  • Dylan Jones, Physics, for “Long Live the Crownless King”

Second Prize

  • Zachary Short, Philosophy, for “Fallen Silence”

Third Prize

  • Zoe Westwater, Mechanical Engineering, for “#006”

GRADUATE ESSAY AND CREATIVE NONFICTION

First Prize

  • Stephanie Jennings, Communication & Media, for “Abject Play”

Second Prize

  • Robb Conrad Lauzon, Communication & Media, for “Debating Space”

Third Prize

  • Lorelei Wagner, Communication & Media, for “Sound Bytes of Multimodal Composition”

UNDERGRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize 

  • Alex Zylka, DIS (Science andTechnology Studies), for “Light, suddenly in the dark”

Second Prize

  • Rachel E. Mailhot, GSAS, for “An Awkward Conversation”

GRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize 

  • Angela Beallor, Electronic Arts, for “Eclipsed: Parts I & II (excerpt of a work in progress)”

Second Prize

  • Dan Ng Wei hao, Electronic Arts, for “Body Language”

Third Prize

  • Allison Bannister, Communication and Media, for “Ghost Room”
2017

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY AND CREATIVE NONFICTION

First Prize

  • Zachariah Spurrier, Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology, for “Paper Cuts”

Second Prize (Tie)

  • Elizabeth Hwang, Industrial and Management Engineering, for “Morning Wind”
  • Jade Forman, Electrical Engineering, for “The Impossible Pedestal”

Third Prize (Tie)

  • Arslan Sheikh, Biochemistry/Biophysics, for “On Eid Morning”
  • Jenna Shulman, Chemical Engineering, for “The Modern Eugenics Wars: An International Debate of the Morality Behind Genetic Engineering”

Honorable Mention

  • Wailana Chan, Electrical Engineering, for “A Jar Called Hope”

GRADUATE ESSAY AND CREATIVE NONFICTION

First Prize

  • Lorelei Wagner, Communication and Media, for “Multisensory Rhetoric: Toward an Understanding of Embodied Meaning-making”

Second Prize

  • Can Mekik, Cognitive Science, for “Cognitive Science: A Terse Characterization”

Third Prize

  • Robb Conrad Lauzon, Communication and Media, for “War Photographs as Exemplars of Transcendent Identification”

UNDERGRADUATE SHORT FICTION AND DRAMA

First Prize (Tie)

  • Talina Bastille, Biology, for “No Vacancy”
  • Claire Thomas, Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences, for “Choose Your Own Adventure”

Second Prize (Tie)

  • Sarah Bertis, Architecture, for “Seeking”
  • Connor Giles, Chemical Engineering, for “Earth Seed”

Third Prize (Tie)

  • Cameron Kee, Biology, for “Maybe Goodbye”
  • Julia Fantacone, Computer Science, for “Echo Chamber”

Honorable Mentions

  • Sean Concannon, Electronic Media, Arts, and Communication, for “Tech Support”
  • Caitlyn Egan, Computer Science and Business Management, for “Man’s Best Friend”
  • James Hopkins, Game and Simulation Arts and Sciences, for “The Brazilian”

GRADUATE SHORT FICTION AND DRAMA

First Prize

  • Ni Ni, Industrial and System Engineering, for “The Life of Her”

Undergraduate Electronic Media

No prizes were awarded in this category.

GRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize

  • Diana Alvarez, Electronic Arts, for “Sonifying Nepantia”

Second Prize

  • Matt O’Hare, Electronic Arts, for “Hologram Dialogue (Skeletons)”

Third Prize

  • Kathleen McDermott, Arts, for “I Thought It Would Be Funny (An Epitaph, an Apology)”

UNDERGRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Molly Kerwick, Physics, for “White ©”

Second Prize

  • Noah Tebben, Information Technology and Web Science and Business Management, for “Homefried”

Third Prize

  • Joerene Aviles, Biomedical Engineering, for “1 A.M. Ramblings”

GRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Ainsley Pinkowitz, Materials Engineering, for “Investigating the Divergence of Science and Love”

Second Prize

  • Robb Conrad Lauzon, Communication and Media, for “Soulbot: Search for Contentment (Tracks 1 – 6)”

Third Prize

  • Nicole Mowder, Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering, for “Cumulonimbus”
2016

GRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Ainsley Pinkowitz, Materials Science and Engineering, for "It was easier to love before I met other humans"

No other prizes were awarded in this category.

UNDERGRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Zachariah Spurrier, Physics, for "titles"

Second Prize

  • Nicole Mowder, Mechanical Engineering, for "We May Shatter"

Third Prize (Tie)

  • Casey Fong, Biochemistry-Biophysics, for "This In-Between, Two-Headed Thing"
  • Nicholas Boni, Physics, for "Fixing a Hole"

GRADUATE FICTION/DRAMA

First Prize

  • David Banks, Science and Technology Studies, for “Platinum”

Second Prize

  • David Carabis, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, for “The Witching Game”

Third Prize

  • Simon Ellis, Computer Science, for “The Great Egg Race”

UNDERGRADUATE FICTION/DRAMA

First Prize

  • Gabriella Rollo, Biochemistry-Biophysics, for “Meeting the Parents”

Second Prize

  • Claire Thomas, Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences, for “A Fairy Tale”

Third Prize (Tie)

  • Nicholas Boni, Physics, for “We Used to do Cakes”
  • Christina Papini, Biochemistry-Biophysics, for “Home-Style Breakfast”

Graduate Essay

First Prize

  • Candice Lanius, Communication and Rhetoric, for “Finding Rhetorical Agency in the Data Science Machine: Understanding Emerging Climate Change Arguments from Automated Data Modeling”

Second Prize

  • J. Parkman Carter, Architectural Sciences, for “Hearing vs. Listening”

Third Prize

  • Robb Lauzon, Communication and Rhetoric, for “Ambience as Social Construction at a Troy Restaurant: The Ethnography of Material Rhetoric”

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY

First Prize

  • Nicolaas Verbeek, Computer Science, for “Style as Substance: Visual Elements in The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou”

Second Prize

  • Laura Antoniello, Computer Science, for “Captain America”

Third Prize

  • Rafael Ramos, Biomedical Engineering, for “3D Bioprinting: A novel approach to tissue fabrication for implementation in vivo”

GRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize

  • Stephanie JenningS, Communication and Media, for “Going Outside”

No other prizes were awarded in this category.

UNDERGRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize

  • Nicholas Boni, Physics, for “Fifteen Years Later”

Second Prize

  • Demetrius Green, Civil Engineering, for “Let the Rain Fall”

Third Prize

  • Rajas Nagpurkar, Games and Simulation Arts and Sciences, for “A Disorganized Collection of Writings”
2015

UNDERGRADUATE FICTION/DRAMA

First Prize (Tie)

  • Doug Norton, Computer Science, for "Wind and Snow”
  • Ryan Scaringe, Business and Management, for (Screenplay) “Eden-Esta”

Second Prize

  • Nolan Feola, Biology, for “A Sequential Symphony”

Third Prize

  • Brian Kaszuba, Biology, for “Thank God Nutella is Sticky”

Honorable Mentions

  • Francesca Huber, Computer Science, for "Hunger"
  • Gabriella Rollo, Biochemistry/Biophysics, for “Home Again”
  • Sara Wartofsky, Mechanical Engineering, for “House Gremlins” 

GRADUATE FICTION/DRAMA

First Prize

  • Simon Ellis, Computer Science, for “I Feel Like I Could Run Forever”

Second Prize

  • Britney Summit-Gil, Communication & Rhetoric, for “Tell her, Sue”

Third Prize

  • Jacqueline Bowler, Communication and Rhetoric, for "Tamaryn’s House”

UNDERGRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Madison Wyatt, Physics, for (Collection) Shadows From Behind

Second Prize

  • Deborah Winograd, Biology, for (Collection) Showers and Sifting

Third Prize

  • Conner Riel, Computer Science, for (Collection) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Various Poetic Works

GRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Ainsley Pinkowitz, Materials Engineering, for (Collection) I Try Not to Spend Too Much Time on the Internet

Second Prize

  • Jacqueline Bowler, Communication and Rhetoric, for (Collection) A Collection of Poems

Third Prize

  • Britney Summit-Gil, Communication and Rhetoric, for (Collection) Selected Poetry

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY

First Prize

  • Graham Ramsey, Information Technology and Web Science, for “The Bamboozled American Effect”

Second Prize

  • Kathryn McGuire, Computer Science, for “Window-Sized City”

Third Prize

  • Andrew Rainville, Business and Management, for “A Great Oft-Forgotten”

GRADUATE ESSAY

First Prize

  • Robb Conrad Lauzon, Communication and Rhetoric, for “’Good Night, Planet Earth. Good Night, Humanity’: A Eulogy for a Lunar Rover”

Second Prize

  • Candice Lanius, Communication and Rhetoric, for “The Path of Least Resistance: An exploration of non-human agency in a workplace survey”

Third Prize

  • Simon Ellis, Computer Science, for “What if Watson Got Board?: Using cognitive computing to play highly-complex tabletop games”

UNDERGRADUATE ELELCTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize

  • Brendan Bequette, Electrical Engineering, for “Rensselaer Autonomous Roving Vehicle”

Second Prize

  • Eric Chin, Architecture, for “Affinity”

Third Prize

  • Abigail Agosto, Nuclear Engineering, for "Catcher in the Rye Trailer”

GRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA

First Prize

  • Arun Ghandi, Electrical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering, for “Perception”

Second Prize

  • Stephanie Jennings, Communication and Rhetoric, for (vine game) “Inevitable”

Third Prize

  • Simon Ellis, Computer Science, for (game) “The Hall of the Fount of Artois”
2014

UNDERGRADUATE FICTION/DRAMA

First Prize

  • Branson Gerst, Chemical Engineering, for "In Service to Cannibals"

Second Prize

  • Jony Rozon, Physics and Applied Physics, for "Nick Gogan’s Bed"

Third Prize

  • David Gardiner, Mechanical Engineering; Electrical; and Mechanical, Aeronautical, and Mechanical Engineering, for "The Black Waitress"

GRADUATE FICTION/DRAMA

First Prize

  • Simon Ellis, Computer Science, for "The Legends We Make Ourselves"

Second Prize

  • Anthony Maiorana, Chemistry and Chemical Biology, for “Bitter Summer"

Third Prize

  • Marco Fernando Navarro, Communication and Media, for "The Neck of Jesus"

UNDERGRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Jonah Duch, Materials Engineering, for Poems: 2013 – 2014 (collection)

Second Prize

  • Mary Dalton, Electrical Engineering, for Broken Dolls  (collection)

Third Prize (Tie)

  • Bridget Cohen, Information Technology and Web Science, for Orange Pop  (collection)
  • Brandon Win, Psychology and Biology, for Friday Night  (collection)

GRADUATE POETRY

First Prize

  • Jedediyah Williams, Computer Science, for "Cindy" (within the collection An Outside Joke)

Second Prize

  • Adam Daskalakis, Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering, for "An Ode to Melancholy Manifesto”

No other prizes were awarded in this category.

UNDERGRADUATE ESSAY

First Prize

  • Nico Rappoli, Mechanical Engineering, for "Jaws—A Horror Film Adaptation"

Second Prize (Tie)

  • Elizabeth Anderson, Sustainability Studies, for "The Legacy of Ian McHarg: GIS and Urban Planning"
  • Kihwan Kim, Electrical Engineering and Electrical Computer and System Engineering, for "February 12th of 2011"

Third Prize

  • Christina Bush, Biology, for "Who Saved Whom?"

GRADUATE ESSAY

First Prize

  • Jason Coley, Communication and Rhetoric, for "Critical Discourse Analysis of the NRA’s Response to Sandy Hook"

Second Prize

  • Ben Schneiderman, Architecture, for "Choice of Nightmares: Psychoanalysis Meets Conrad and Kafka"

Third Prize

  • Elizabeth Anderson, Sustainability Studies, for "The Legacy of Ian McHarg: GIS and Urban Planning"

UNDERGRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA ARTS AND COMMUNICATION

First Prize

  • Frank Appio, Electronic Media Arts and Communication, for "No Symbols for Cymbals”

Second Prize

  • Nathan Fullerton, Electronic Media Arts and Communication, for "Feedback"

Third Prize

  • Chan Wei Sheng Jonathan (Jonathan Chan), Communication, for “The Half and Half Man”

GRADUATE ELECTRONIC MEDIA ARTS AND COMMUNICATION

No prizes were awarded in this category.