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35 exceptional MIT students named Burchard Scholars for 2016

Sophomores and juniors who excel in the HASS and STEM fields are honored.
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Students selected as Burchard Scholars are some of MIT's liveliest undergraduates. They are unafraid to wrestle with new ideas.
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Students selected as Burchard Scholars are some of MIT's liveliest undergraduates. They are unafraid to wrestle with new ideas.
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Photo: SHASS Communications

The School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences has named 35 exceptional MIT undergraduates as Burchard Scholars for 2016. The award honors sophomores and juniors who demonstrate academic excellence in the humanities, arts, and social sciences, as well as in science and engineering.

Burchard Scholars can come from any school or department of the Institute, and this year’s honorees major and minor in a range of disciplines, including civil engineering, literature, chemistry, political science, electrical engineering, music, physics, mathematics, biology, media studies, and economics.

"What binds the group together," says Margery Resnick, professor of literature and director of the Burchard program, "is a powerful curiosity about ideas. The Burchard scholars are some of MIT’s liveliest undergraduates,” she adds. “Selection is extremely competitive, and the students chosen are unafraid to wrestle with new ideas.”

Ideas, leadership, and dinner seminars

Named in honor of the school's first dean, John Ely Burchard, the Burchard Scholars Program brings undergraduates together with distinguished members of the faculty for a series of eight dinner seminars that reflect the range of research in the school. Past gatherings have featured talks on: how American social policies really work; the politics of aid to Haitian trauma survivors; what philosophy tells us about how to make big decisions; U.S. grand strategy in foreign policy; and the art of discovery. 

“The Burchard dinners are, for faculty and students alike, an oasis in our busy lives,” Resnick notes. “I look forward to every dinner as the powerful ideas generated by our faculty are reflected upon, challenged, and enjoyed by this wonderful group.”

The arts of intellectual give-and-take and leadership

The Burchard gatherings are famous not only for presenting leading-edge research, but for building a warm, supportive community, and giving students experience in the arts of intellectual give-and-take and leadership — skills students value for success in every field.

“Engaging and engaged are defining characteristics of MIT's Burchard Scholars,” Resnick says, noting that many past winners have gone on to receive other distinguished honors, including Rhodes, Marshall, and Truman scholarships and fellowships.

Melissa Nobles, the Kenan Sahin Dean of the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, will congratulate the new class of Burchard Scholars at a reception to be held in their honor in February.

The Burchard Scholars for 2016 are:
 
Wajeeha Ahmad '17, mathematics with a minor in applied international studies

Alaisha Alexander '18, mechanical engineering

Emmanuel Azuh '18, electrical engineering and computer science

Mary Clare Beytagh '18, biology

Archis Bhandarkar '18, biological engineering

Kevin Castro '17, aeronautics and astronautics

Lilly Chin '17, electrical engineering and computer science with a minor in mechanical engineering

Thomas Cowan '17, mechanical engineering

Teresa de Figueiredo '17, materials science and engineering

David Dellal '17, mechanical engineering with a minor in French

Keeley Erhardt '17, electrical engineering and computer science with a minor in applied international studies

Daniela Ganelin '18, mathematics

Aaron Hammond '17, electrical engineering and computer science and literature

Lisa Ho '17, electrical engineering and computer science

Lisa Kong '18, materials science and engineering

Jing Li '17, economics and mathematics

Sophia Liu '17, chemical engineering and biology

Everett Malone '17, comparative media studies and literature

Nicholas Matthews '17, electrical engineering and computer science and literature

Katherine Nazemi '17, political science and mathematics

Paige Omura '17, chemical engineering with a minor in anthropology

Valerie Peng '17, mechanical engineering

Claire Robinson '18, mechanical engineering

James Rowan '17, mathematics

Alyssa Smith '17, humanities and engineering

Stephen Tang '17, chemistry

Sophia Tigges '18, earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences

Dana Vigue '17, biology

Hallie Voulgaris '17, mathematics with a minor in music

Katherine Weishaar '18, architecture

Sarah Wharton '17, brain and cognitive sciences

Emily Widder '17, aeronautics and astronautics

Tiffany Yeh '17, materials science and engineering

Austen Yueh '17, electrical engineering and computer science

Olivia Zhao '18, economics

Story prepared by MIT SHASS Communications
Director: Emily Hiestand
Communications Associate: Daniel Pritchard

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