Exceptional Undergraduate Philosophers Selected for Department & Humanities Awards

The Department is thrilled to celebrate the recent awards granted to some of our outstanding undergraduate Philosophy students! Awards won include:

Each year, BUCH bestows awards ranging from $1,500 to $5,000 to distinguished undergraduate students who have been nominated by their department in recognition of their outstanding academic work. This year, two Philosophy students were selected: Vanessa Hanger, a junior Philosophy & Psychology major and Core Curriculum minor, and Alexandra Mascarello, a junior Philosophy major and Core Curriculum and Classical Civilizations minor.

The College Prize for Excellence in Philosophy is awarded to a graduating undergraduate senior, selected for their extraordinary efforts in the field of philosophy and nominated by the Department’s faculty. The College Prize is awarded to the highest academically-ranking senior in the Department of Philosophy. The winner of the 2022 College Prize is Shanshan Cao, a graduating senior with a double major in Mathematics and Philosophy and a minor in Computer Science.

The John N. Findlay Award is an award in honor of John Findlay, a past Border Parker Bowne Professor of Philosophy who was known as an imaginative and comprehensive philosopher in an era that seemed dedicated to restricting the scope and depth of philosophical investigation, exploring philosophy internationally and without bounds. The Findlay Award is awarded to the second-highest ranking senior academically in the Department of Philosophy. The winner of the 2022 Findlay Award is Ivan Kondratyev, a graduating senior with a double major in Psychology and our joint major, Philosophy & Neuroscience.

The Peter A. Bertocci Award for Philosophical Excellence is an award in honor of Peter Anthony Bertocci, a past Border Parker Bowne Professor and a member of the Department of Philosophy for thirty-one years. This award is given to the next highest-ranking senior academically in the Department of Philosophy. The 2022 recipient is Melissa Boberg, a double major in Philosophy and English.

The Matchette Prize for Best Senior Paper is awarded to a graduating senior who completed outstanding work on a philosophical paper. The 2022 recipient is Shanshan Cao, for her paper, “From Models to Manifolds: The Mathematics in Husserl’s Manifold Theory.”

The Robert S. Cohen Award in Interdisciplinary Studies honors Robert Cohen, an emeritus professor and the former director of the Center for Philosophy and History of Science. The award celebrates the work of a student who works in an interdisciplinary method across majors and academic interests. The 2022 Cohen Award winner is Akesh Shah, a graduating senior and Philosophy & Political Science major who is also minoring in Russian, Economics, and the Core Curriculum.

The Peter M. Nelson Memorial Award for Distinguished Work by a Junior is a gift from the family and friends of Peter Marius Nelson, a brilliant student of philosophy who graduated magna cum laude from the College of Arts & Sciences in 1964; the Award was established upon his death in 1968. The Award is given to a student in the Department of Philosophy who has displayed the highest achievement in the field during their Junior year. The 2022 recipient is Jamieson Greene, a junior double majoring in Philosophy and Political Science.

The Department would like to congratulate each student on their outstanding academic work and the well-deserved awards it has earned them. Congratulations to all!