2007-08 Allyn & Bacon Winners' Biographies
Psi Chi would like to thank Allyn & Bacon Publishers for sponsoring the 2006-07 research award competition. Cash awards were provided by Allyn & Bacon to the winners as follows: $1,000 for first place, $650 for second place, and $350 for third place. Psi Chi congratulates these 2005-06 winners of the Allyn & Bacon Awards and wishes them continued success in their education and careers.
Read abstracts of these award winning papers here.
Melissa Martin, originally from Manahawkin, NJ, was a member of the university’s Honor College for the class of 2008. Ms. Martin studied psychology with a focus on childhood development. She held several leadership positions including president of the Inter-Residence Association, Honors College student mentor, and Psi Chi chapter president. Currently, Melissa is working at the New England Center for Children teaching children and teens on the autism spectrum. She plans to begin graduate coursework in applied behavior analysis in January. This paper was completed as an honors thesis to fulfill requirements for the University of Vermont’s first graduating Honors College class. In addition to meeting the requirements, Ms. Martin also received the Heinz L. Ansbacher Award. She hopes that this research will add to the literature and help generate an interest in this area of study.
Jeremy Wing-Hei Luk graduated magna cum laude in psychology (with distinction) and comparative religion from the University of Washington in 2008. As an undergraduate, he pursued numerous opportunities to broaden his knowledge in psychology and beyond. For instance, he studied the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Cape Town, South Africa, and completed psychology and theology courses at the University of Oxford. These cross-cultural and interdisciplinary experiences have enriched his approach to the challenges of scientific psychology. Mr. Luk’s honors project on mindfulness is an attempt to integrate his dual interests in psychology and religion. With this project, he was awarded a Mary Gates Research Scholarship and a Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grant. Looking forward, Mr. Luk plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology towards his goal of becoming an interdisciplinary researcher in the study of family. He is currently a post-baccalaureate fellow at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Kartik Ramamoorthi is a senior undergraduate at Rutgers University New Brunswick with a double major in neuroscience and psychology. He has been working in Dr. Tim Otto’s lab for 3 years where he has learned all aspects of behavioral neuroscience research. Mr. Ramamoorthi would like to thank Dr. Otto, Jen Czerniawski, Camille Parsons, and the rest of the Otto Lab for all of their support.