Two Seniors Awarded Radcliffe Thesis Prize

Two seniors received the Captain Jonathan Fay Prize last week at the Radcliffe Strawberry Tea, an event for graduating seniors sponsored by the Radcliffe Association.

Susie Y. Huang ’02, a chemistry concentrator in Dunster House, and Andrew L. Lynn ’02, a history and literature concentrator in Cabot House, were awarded for their theses the highest honor Radcliffe bestows on an undergraduate who has produced outstanding imaginative work or original research in any field.

“These students fulfilled the criteria for the prize. They demonstrated originality, independence and skill in designing and executing the research,” said Radcliffe Dean Drew Gilpin Faust.

This is the first year that the prize honors not one but two seniors, one female and one male.

Two years ago, the prize was not given because the wording of the prize dictated that Radcliffe College award the prize to a woman. The newly-formed Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study took the initiative to remove the gender restriction, comply with the College’s non-discrimination policy and continue its tradition of awarding the prize to dedicated seniors.

“The committee felt this year that the two seniors were equally outstanding and deserving of the award. They did not want to divide the prize but instead award two separate prizes,” Faust said. “It just a coincidence that one was male and one was female.”

Huang’s thesis, titled “Signal Interferences from Turbulent Spin Dynamics in Solution NMR,” may improve imaging and spectroscopic methods in nuclear magnetic resonance and tissue magnetic resonance imaging, possibly enhancing the ability of clinicians to diagnose disease.

Lynn’s “Reading Bartleby” was an analysis of Herman Melville’s 1853 short story “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.”

“Receiving the Fay prize was quite an unexpected honor,” Huang said. “Doing research was the highlight of my undergraduate experience, and I felt lucky to be recognized for it.”

Lynn echoed Huang’s surprise at being so honored.

“Obviously I was shocked to win this award, albeit in a good way,” he said.

But the seniors’ thesis advisors said they were not surprised by their advisees’ most recent recognition.

“[Huang’s] thesis demonstrated a sophistication and depth of knowledge and accomplishment that was easily of Ph.D. thesis quality at many good universities,” said Professor of Chemistry and Physics Eric J. Heller, one of Huang’s advisors.

“I’m not surprised that Andy won—his work is truly original, and his contribution to the field of American literature is significant,” said Naomi Sofer, Lynn’s tutor.

Next year Huang, who will graduate with both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, will begin her doctoral studies in physical chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles as a National Science Foundation graduate research fellow.

Lynn will spend the next year working in New York and plans to continue his study of literature in graduate school in the fall of 2003.

This year, the candidates for the Fay Prize were selected from the nominees of the College’s Hoopes Prize, which was awarded in May to 74 students for exceptional scholarly work or research.

An interdisciplinary committee convened by the Institute made the final selection.

—Staff writer Anat Maytal can be reached at maytal@fas.harvard.edu.