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Student Prizes

On behalf of Caltech and in recognition of students' achievements, HSS faculty select undergraduate and graduate students to receive the following awards and honors. Prize recipients from the last 5 years are listed below.

The prize rewards outstanding performance and creativity by a Caltech undergraduate who completes one of the social science options. The prize was established by Susan G. Davis in recognition of David M. Grether's contributions to econometrics and experimental economics and his service to the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The prize is awarded annually by a committee of social science faculty.

YEAR	RECIPIENT
2021	James (Jamie) Vinson Anthony (Tony) Kukavica
2020	David Fager
2019	Noah Huffman Akshay Srivastava
2017	Nishant Desai

Alexander P. and Adelaide F. Hixon Prize for Writing

The Hixon Prize for Writing was established in 2000 by Alexander P. and Adelaide F. Hixon. The prize will be awarded annually to an undergraduate student for the best composition in a freshman humanities course. The prize is administered by the writing center, and the winner will be chosen by a committee from the humanities division.

YEAR	RECIPIENT
2021	Bradley (Kaulana) Chun
2020	Elsa Palumbo
2019	Diego Olaya
2018	Galilea von Ruden
2017	Crystal Liang

The prize rewards the best second-year paper by a graduate student in Social Science or Social Decision Neuroscience. The prize was established by Susan G. Davis in recognition of John O. Ledyard's dedication to developing graduate students as independent researchers and his service to the Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences. The prize is awarded annually by a committee of social science faculty to a sole-authored work and carries a cash award of $1,000.

YEAR	RECIPIENT
2021	Po Hsuan Lin
2020	Meng Jhang Fong
2019	Joanna Huey Jeff Zeidel
2018	Shiyu Zhang
2017	Alejandro Robinson-Cortés Hamed Hamze Bajgiran

Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature

The Mary A. Earl McKinney Prize in Literature was established in 1946 by Samuel P. McKinney, M.D., of Los Angeles. Its purpose is to promote proficiency in writing. The terms under which it is given are decided each year by the literature faculty. It may be awarded for essays submitted in connection with regular literature classes or awarded on the basis of a special essay contest.

YEAR	PROSE FICTION	POETRY
2021	Hrishika Basava	Shiva Mudide Honorable Mention: Maggie Sui
2020	Melba Nuzen	Karen Pham Honorable Mention: Andrew Chan
2019	Mohar Chatterjee	Maria De Angelis
2018	Timothy Liu	Laura Hu
2017	Daniel McAndrew	Karen Pham

Rodman W. Paul History Prize

The Rodman W. Paul History Prize was established in 1986 by some of his many colleagues and friends to honor Professor Paul's 35 years of teaching and research at the Institute. The prize is awarded annually to a junior or senior who has shown unusual interest in and talent for history.

YEAR	RECIPIENT
2021	Anirudh Rangaswamy
2020	Margaret (Maggie) Anderson
2019	Nivetha Karthikeyan
2018	Tristan Murphy
2017	Jessica Du Li

Eleanor Searle Prize in Law, Politics, and Institutions

The Eleanor Searle Prize was established in 1999 by friends and colleagues to honor Eleanor Searle, who was the Edie and Lew Wasserman Professor of History at Caltech. The prize is awarded to an undergraduate or graduate student whose work in history, or the social sciences exemplifies Eleanor Searle's interests in the use of power, government, and law.

YEAR	RECIPIENT
2021	Myra Cheng
2020	Nivetha (Niv) Karthikeyan Leonardo (Leo) Balestri
2019	Rona Yu
2018	Roohi Dalal

Hallett Smith Prize

The Hallett Smith Prize was established in 1997 to commemorate Professor Smith's long career as one of this century's most distinguished Renaissance scholars. The cash prize is given annually by the English faculty to the student who writes the best essay on English literature.

YEAR	RECIPIENT
2021	Andrew Chan
2020	Nivedita Kanrar
2019	Brendan Hollaway
2018	Reeti Gulati
2017	Gauri Shastri Suchita Nety

Gordon McClure Memorial Communications Prizes

This prize is awarded to undergraduate students for excellence in written and oral communication skills. Awards will be given in the following fields: English, history, and philosophy.

YEAR	ENGLISH	HISTORY	PHILOSOPHY
2021	Victoria Liu	Saehui Hwang	Ryan White
2020	Victoria Liu	Karen Pham	Lucca de Mello
2019	Crystal Liang	George Daghlian	Nishad Maskara
2018	Maitreyi Nair	Tara Shankar	Jonathan Chan
2017	Zofii Kaczmarek	Christina Lin Honorable Mention: Mark Gillespie	Kshitij Grover