2006 Recipients of The Deans' Award for Academic Accomplishment

Kiyomi Burchill, a senior in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, is honored for her work to promote new scholarly and political understandings of race. This includes an original study of the political dimensions of the multiracial movement which is already receiving national attention.

Working with thesis advisors, Professor Michele Elam and Professor Luis Fraga, Kiyomi began her study as a sophomore. Her work on the distinctive agenda of youth leadership in the multiracial movement documents the political influences behind implementing Office of Management and Budget Directive 15. These require universities and government agencies to collect racial data.

She also examined the two largest and most influential “mixed race” organizations. She saw how their leadership understood their mandate for multiracial activism in the context of the 2000 census. She was the first to identify a post-census shift discernable in all functions of the movement, from identity formation to the formation of political alliances. Scholars and politicians alike have begun to build upon Kiyomi’s insights.

Kiyomi shared her expertise in a student-initiated course and multiple workshops and lectures at Stanford and universities around the country. She cosponsored the first national Mixed Race Leadership Summit in 2005.

Nominator Michele Elam writes: “Her high GPA alone cannot reveal her creative genius, mature insight, and leadership in this new field of study.” Kiyomi is also honored for her accomplishments as published poet and spoken word artist.

Jonathan Chou, a senior in Biological Sciences, is honored for his study of cytoskeletal organizing proteins in neuronal survival and function. This will deepen understanding of neurodegeneration and neurodegenerative disorders such as giant axonal neuropathy (GAN).

Jonathan began his research at Stanford in the Transgenic Facility, under the direction of Dr. Liz Allen and Professor Michael Cleary of the Department of Pathology. This is where he participated in the development of the transgenic mouse and performed independent research on the differentiation of embryonic stem cells into neuronal cells.

On Dr. Allen’s recommendation, Jonathan began to work with nominator Professor Yanmin Yang of the Department of Neurology in early 2003. Jon has constructed mutant expression vectors of gigaxonin, a protein that controls protein degradation and is essential for neuronal function and survival. His work to “knockout” associated protein MAP8 will clarify the relationship between gigaxonin and its “partner proteins.” This allowed him to model the disease in the absence of access to human patients.

Jonathan has been awarded the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and received awards for undergraduates from the American Heart Association and Pfizer. He is coauthor of a paper published in Nature in 2005 and will be first author of a manuscript in preparation.

Nominator Professor Yanmin Yang writes: “With his unusual gift of originality, intellect, drive, and ability, I am sure that he will be successful in his endeavors. Jon is one of the best undergraduate students I’ve met at any university.”

Adam Coates, a coterminal Master’s student in Computer Science and Mathematics, is honored for the creation of software for the robotic helicopter. His application of complex mathematical ideas to challenging machine learning problems advances the mathematical foundations of robotics, robotics applications and the analysis of robotic systems.

In 2003, Adam began his work with Professor Andrew Ng of the Computer Science Department. He worked on machine learning and using statistical AI algorithms for pattern recognition, data mining and control, and applying reinforcement learning to autonomous helicopter flight. Adam’s coding enabled the helicopter to estimate its position and perform flight control. His work contributed to advances in autonomous helicopter flight, navigation, helicopter ability to map ground it covers and its cooperation with autonomous robotic ground vehicles.

Autonomous helicopter flight is widely regarded as a challenging control problem, since helicopters are highly unstable at low speeds. Using reinforcement learning, Adam has contributed to a series of “firsts” increasing the potential of robots to perform complex and difficult maneuvers. Adam will pursue a PhD in Computer Science.

Nominator Professor Ng writes: “Adam is a superstar. Almost every single line of code flying on the helicopter today was written by him. He is a rare gem.”

Max Etchemendy, a senior in Philosophy, is honored for his study of Richard Rufus of Cornwall. This includes the discovery and description of Rufus’ detailed outline of Thomas Aquinas’ De Anima which has revolutionized the understanding of medieval pedagogical technique. He’s also honored for his translation of Rufus’ Speculum Animae, already adopted as a course text at Princeton.

Max joined the Richard Rufus project in his sophomore year and spent months developing the detailed outline of Aristotle’s text that Rufus presented for his students. Max reconstructed divisions of the text that sometimes go down as far as twenty levels. His insight into that outline enabled him to develop a dynamic website that allows the user to delve into the arguments without oversimplification. It also allows the user to perceive how a thirteenth-century thinker conceptualized the structure of the work as a whole.

Max has presented the results of his work at a conference of the American Philosophical Association. His work has been recognized by medievalists internationally.

Calvin G. Normore, Professor of Philosophy at UCLA writes: “I was very impressed by his grasp of the material, a grasp which would have done credit to a senior scholar in the field. That this work has been done by an undergraduate is astonishing!”

Nominator Professor Rega Wood writes: “It is proof, if one were needed, that patience, good humor and common sense are no bar to brilliant achievement.”

Jonathan Fetter-Vorm, a senior in History, is honored for his study of books and bookmaking which resulted in hand-illustrated translation of Beowulf. He also wrote an exceptional Honors thesis on the literary and political contexts of the mysterious 17th century Florentine author, Giusto Gateppi.

Jonathan fully exploited the narrative and aesthetic opportunities of the comic book, yielding stunning images that bring Beowulf and Jonathan’s interpretation of it to life. His visual work accompanied a comparison of Beowulf to early medieval saints’ lives that conveys how Christian warrior-monks may have received the poem. It also conveys how their lives might reflect the same accommodations between heroic Anglo-Saxon values and Christianity.

His thesis centers on Giusto Gateppi, author of a 17th century example of Cronica nera, a genre focusing on the dark events of the city. To undertake this research, Jonathan learned early modern paleography, attaining the technical proficiency usually possessed only by advanced graduate students. He established Gateppi’s work as part of a larger tradition by which Florentines remembered scandals and deaths that punctuated the social, political and religious life of their city.

Jonathan’s interests are truly interdisciplinary, explaining his nomination by Professors Paula Findlen, Carolyn Lougee Chappell, Philippe Buc of History, and Stephen Orgel of English. Paula Findlen writes: “A talented artist, actor, and scholar, he is a true original.”

He is, as Stephen Orgel put it, “an absolutely magical student, deserving of every kind of accolade.”

Albert Keung, a senior in Chemical Engineering, is honored for studies on organic modification of semiconductor surfaces for possible applications in lithography, sensors and molecular electronics.

Albert worked with Professor Stacey Bent of the Chemical Engineering Department since his sophomore year. He began by examining the reactivity of a series of amides on the surface of a Germanium semiconductor. To contribute to understanding interfaces at the molecular level, Albert quickly mastered a variety of molecular probes using ultrahigh vacuum equipment and spectroscopic tools. He completed a series of studies on tertiary and secondary amides, discovering intriguing coverage-, temperature- and time-dependent behavior.

Albert has received the Merck Award for Student Research and the Merck Engineering and Technology Fellowship. He will present his findings for the second time to the 52nd Annual International AVS Symposium and to American Chemical Society. He has authored or coauthored significant research articles in the Journal of Surface Science, the Journal of the American Chemical Society, and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. He is currently working on a fourth paper.

Nominator Stacey Bent writes: “Albert has a grasp of the scientific method typical of some of my best graduate students. He has made truly exceptional accomplishments in research. I fully expect that he will continue to have a positive impact on the scientific community as well as the broader community at large.”

Jason Ross, a senior in Biological Sciences, is honored for his identification and isolation of ovarian cancer stem cells. This required developing novel methods of transplantation and isolation. His work contributes to our understanding of cancer therapy and regeneration.

Jason’s undergraduate research at Stanford began with Professor Mary Beth Mudgett and graduate researcher Julie Roden. Their study led to the discovery of a novel bacterial protein and his first Dean’s Award in 2004. His current work with Professor Irving Weissman displays the same keen ability to devise novel tools and protocols. This time he isolated cancer cells and created new monoclonal antibodies against the surface proteins of the human ovarian cancer cell. Jason found a way to induce antibodies that focus on the cancer cells, not the noncancerous blood, inflammatory, stromal, and blood vessel cells that accompany it.

He is currently working to link specific cancer cells to specific antibodies. Thanks in part to his data, the Weissman lab obtained a grant to isolate human ovarian cancer stem cells: cells responsible for cancer growth and spread. Jason will apply to MD / PhD programs after a year’s hiatus.

Nominator Irving Weissman writes: “Jason is at this time operating at the level of an advanced graduate student. He is truly an extraordinary student and has mastered the literature around this project. I am certain he will end up in the most competitive graduate programs.”

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