On May 8, the 1997-1998 Ilona Karmel Writing Prizes Competition, chaired by Dr. Edward Barrett, senior lecturer in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, recognized the writing achievements of seven seniors, six juniors and two sophomores. The winners were chosen from 136 entries by 66 students in the categories of essay, drama, poetry, short story, fiction, science fiction, and scientific and technical writing.
In the poetry category of the Boit Manuscript Prize, first place was awarded to "For You" by Andrew Jaime Wong, a junior in chemistry from Palo Alto, CA. Second place was accorded to "Caja" by Joaquin S. Terrones, a senior in literature from Mexico City. In the short story category, first place went to "Rice and Threads" by Pei Ye, a senior in materials science and engineering from New York, NY.
For the Louis Kampf Prize in Women's and Gender Studies, first place (non-fiction) went to "A Figure in Steam and Smoke" by Rita Leung, a junior in biology from Danville, CA.
For the Robert A. Boit Writing Prize, first place in the essay category was "Ocaso" by Joaquin S. Terrones. Second place went to "Seep" by Helen Lee, a sophomore in architecture from Parsippany, NJ, and third place went to "Educational Poverty at MIT" by Lorraine E. Hertzog, a junior in earth, atmostpheric and planetary sciences from Lexington, SC.
In the poetry category, "Steamboat Mass" by Anna M. Dirks, a junior in humanities from Des Moines, IA, was awarded first prize; and "The Juniper Civilization" by Wesley Andres Watters, a junior in physics and mathematics from Olympia, WA, took second place.
First place in the short story category was awarded to "Arizona" by Sandra Y. Chung, a senior in mechanical engineering from Birmingham, AL. Second place went to "Chili" by Saurabh Asthana, a sophomore in biology from Cambridge. "The Island War" by Michael Coyle, a senior in computer science from Roslyn Height, NY, was in third place. Earning an honorable mention was "Cut-Off" by Tzu-Mainn Chen, a junior in electrical engineering and computer science from Belle Mead, NJ.
The S. Klein Prize for Scientific and Technical Writing top honor was won by Carmen Renee Berg, a senior in biology and chemical engineering from East Grand Forks, MN, for "Elucidating the Mechanism By Which Protamine Negates Heparin's Antiproliferative Effect on Smooth Muscle Cells." Second place was awarded to Brigette A. Burnell, a senior in environmental engineering science from Mansfield, OH, for "Environmental Pesticide Exposure."
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 3, 1998.
