Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities
The Class of 1879 Prize is awarded by the Humanities & Arts department yearly for excellent work in the culminating project for the Humanities & Arts Requirement. These projects must demonstrate exceptional creativity and skill in conceiving, developing, and expressing a theme within any discipline in the humanities and arts.
History of the Prize
WPI has recognized exemplary work in the humanities and arts since 1872, when the department of English and Modern Languages established an award for the best paper in composition classes. At its reunion in 1900, the Class of 1879 endowed this prize for a paper "on a topic of general interest." The endowment was continued by Spencer Miller 1879, who wanted “to encourage graduates of the Institute to develop the art of clear and lucid English in the discussion of engineering subjects.” The Class of 1879 Prize was then awarded annually to the best term paper in the departments of English, History, and Languages until the adoption of the WPI Plan in 1970. In 1983, the department of Humanities & Arts began to award the Class of 1879 Prize to the best Humanities Requirement Projects.
The Class of 1879 Prize has evolved alongside WPI. Today’s prize-winning projects rarely concern engineering subjects, and some aren’t even traditional essays. But we still honor the spirit of Mr. Miller’s prize, to encourage and reward the highest achievements of human expression.
Details for each year's competition are announced in November/December, with a deadline for submission in January. For information on the competition and how to submit your project for consideration, please contact the HUA office at ext. 5246 or at huaweb@wpi.edu.
Note: Prizes awarded for projects completed the previous year.
Browse Award Recipients
| Year | Recipient | Name | Title | Awarded by | Type | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Xuan He | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Faith Healing” Major: Biomedical Engineering. Advisor: Bethel Eddy |
| 2014 | Bohao Li | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Lee Teng-hui and a New Taiwanese Nationalism” Major: Computer Science. Advisor: Jennifer Rudolph |
| 2014 | Ali Fuat Becan | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Producer as Composer Practicum” Major: Electrical & Computer Engineering. Advisor: Scott Barton (honorable mention) |
| 2013 | Damien Cabral | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The Origins of Muslim Extremism" , advisor: W.A. Bland Addison |
| 2013 | Jesse Lehman | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "A Discussion of 20th Century Musical Techniques and Their Presence in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Gruppen“ , advisor: Douglas Weeks |
| 2013 | Shreyas Renganathan | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Undeterminism: Materially Realizing Free Will", advisor: Jennifer McWeeny |
| 2013 | Robert Dabrowski | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Do Robots Have Freedom?", advisor: Jennifer McWeeny |
| 2013 | Rachel Handel | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The Towers Sesquicentennial Edition", advisor: James Cocola |
| 2013 | Victoria Carlson | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The President's Shot, Now What?", advisor: M. David Samson |
| 2012 | Christopher Bannon | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Transgenic Animals and the Catholic Church”, Advisor: Bethel Eddy |
| 2012 | Xiuping Chen | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Origins and Characteristics of Chinese Cyber Nationalism”, Advisor: Jennifer Rudolph |
| 2012 | Justin Rice | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Modernization in the Western Himalayas: Himachal Pradesh and the Apple Industry”, Advisor: Thomas Robertson |
| 2012 | Syed Athar Bin Amir | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “An Evaluation of the Terror”, Advisor: Bland Addison |
| 2012 | Ting Ting Wang | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Union Carbide and the Bhopal Incident: An American Company in a Third World Nation During the Cold War”, Advisor: Thomas Robertson |
| 2011 | Ashik Gowdar | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Muted Musing", Advisor: Joseph Farbook |
| 2011 | Peter Osswald | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "America's War in Afghanistan", Advisor Bland Addison |
| 2011 | Sarah Sawatzki | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Women in Stone: Public Displays of Feminine Tenacity in London" Advisor John Delorey |
| 2011 | Mariah Seaboldt | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The House on Berkshire Street", Advisor: Michelle Ephraim |
| 2011 | Sarah Conlin | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Infamy: The Before After", Advisor James Cocola |
| 2010 | Kassondra Hickey | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Interactive Media Art,” advisor: Joseph Farbrook |
| 2010 | Craig Mitchell | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “The John Hancock Tower,” advisor: M. David Samson |
| 2010 | Mortada Najem | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Human Applicable Cloning: the Islamic Debate,” advisor: Bethel Eddy |
| 2010 | Aakrit Bhakhri | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “Muslim Separatism and Identity in India: Aftermath of the Partition of 1947,” advisor: Ruth Smith |
| 2010 | Mark Hayden | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Transmarginal Inhibition in Gravity’s Rainbow,” advisor: Lance Schachterle |
| 2010 | Xiaoyun Wang & Chang Liu | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “The Saint Archer” (animated short film), advisor: Joshua Rosenstock |
| 2009 | Sarah Albrecht | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Motives for Change: Signac's Stylistic Shift," advisor: D. Samson |
| 2009 | Jeffrey Marrion | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Philosophy and Film: Existentialism and Place," advisor: J. Sanbonmatsu |
| 2009 | Michael Szkutak | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Presidential Electioneering in the Television Age," advisor: J. Hanlan |
| 2009 | Heather Bell | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Celtic Music Throughout the UK," advisor: J. Delorey |
| 2009 | Don Havener | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The Encyclopedia and the Third Estate," advisor B. Addison |
| 2009 | Everett Tripp | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Why They Fought: The Working Class in Empire," advisor: P. Hansen |
| 2008 | Andrew Marchese | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Origins of Emergent Order: The Inadequacy of Reductionism and the Complexity of Light Phenomena," advisor: David Spanagel |
| 2008 | Richard Pampuro | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Right within Anarchism," advisor: John Sanbonmatsu |
| 2008 | Maggie Allard | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "The Butterfly (animated short)," advisor: Joshua Rosenstock |
| 2008 | Rui Dai | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Red and the Rest (a memoir)," advisor: Lorraine Higgins |
| 2008 | Kirk Lanciani | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Soaring on the Ground: The Flight Simulator," advisor: E. Malcom Parkinson |
| 2008 | Ryan Whetstone | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Honorable Mention | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Jazz Saxophone Performance; From Swing to Fusion," advisor: Richad Falco |
| 2007 | Rebecca C. Baron | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “A Change in Expectations: Staging of Dueling in Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet,” advisor Michelle Ephraim |
| 2007 | Craig D. DiGiovanni | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “The Planning and Implementation of Denazification in Post War Germany,” advisor David Dollenmayer |
| 2007 | Lucas Samuel Lincoln | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | “An Analysis of Pat Metheny as a Jazz Composer,” advisor Richard Falco |
| 2006 | Benjamin W. Dwyer | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Spirits of the Dead: a Musical Composition," advisor: Richard Falco |
| 2006 | Amanda J. Tarbet | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Multimodal Tensions in the Graphic Novel," advisor: Ruth Smith |
| 2006 | Eric G. Wilusz | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Competing Visions for Technical Education: the Founding of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Worcester Polytechnic Institute," advisor: David Spanagel |
| 2005 | Charles A. Gammal III | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "John Boynton: Farmer to Founder," advisor: David Rawson |
| 2005 | Karim G. Makram | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Breaking Out," advisor: Lorraine Higgins |
| 2005 | Hilal Tetik | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Robert Fludd's 'De Musica Mundana' and the Ideals of the Rasicrucian Brotherhood," advisor: Lee Fontanella |
| 2004 | Patrick A. Hogan | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Dying by Inches: Imperialism and Asian Famines," advisor: Peter H. Hansen |
| 2004 | Steven J. Tufo | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Considering the Absurd, Judgment, and Love: Albert Camus' Revolt Against Death," advisor: John Sanbonmatsu |
| 2004 | Laura E. Baldassari | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Flute Music of the Classical Period," advisor: Douglas G. Weeks |
| 2003 | Griffin R. Bryant | Class of 1879 Prize for Outstanding Projects in the Humanities | Winner | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Undergraduate | "Torment: a Story," advisor: Michelle K. Ephraim |