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• Recipients: Natural and Computational Sciences

Awards in the Natural and Computational Sciences

W&M Recipients

2023

William & Mary Interdisciplinary Award for Excellence

• Grace DeSalvo, Chemistry
  
  Advisor: Dr. Kristin Wustholz
  Environment and Power Dependence of Blinking-Based Multiplexing: Optimizing A New Tool for Multicolor Single-Molecule Imaging

 Award for Excellence

• Lyndi Kiple, Chemistry
  
  Advisor: Dr. Tyler Meldrum
  Watching Paint Dry: Probing the Molecular Behavior of Acrylic Paint via Single-Sided NMR

2020

Graduate Studies Advisory Board Award for Excellence

• Eden Maness, Applied Science
  
  Advisor: Dr. Josh Burk
  The Antipsychotic Potential of Orexin Receptor Inhibitors for the Treatment of Schizophrenia

 Award for Excellence

• Heather Kenny, Biology
  
  Advisor: Dr. Dan Cristol
  Investigating the Interaction Between Noise Pollution and Behavioral Traits in Eastern Bluebirds

Honorable Mention

• Jessica Burns, Biology
  Advisor: Dr. Paul Heideman
  
  Changes in Study Methods, Problem-solving, and Motivation after Instruction in Sketching in an Introductory Biology Course

• Amy Hughes, Biology
  
  Advisor: Dr. Joshua Puzey
  A Falling Monarchy: Do Insecticides Hinder Flight Capabilities of the Monarch Butterfly?

2016

Northrop Grumman Corporation Award

• Charles Fancher, Physics
  The College of William and Mary, Advisor: Dr. Seth Aubin
  Experimental Observation of the AC Zeeman Effect

 Award for Excellence

• Rony G. Kalfarisi, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Gina Hoatson
  Investigation of cation ordering in dielectric oxides microwave ceramics using 7Li and 93Nb solid-state NMR and first principle calculation

Honorable Mention

• Xin Wang, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Sasha Mordijck
  Role of Turbulence and Shear Flow in Determining Plasma Density Profiles in Tokamaks

• Shanhe Yi, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  HISE: Head Gesture Interface for Smart Eyewears

2015

Northrop Grumman Corporation Award

• Vitek Jirinec, Biology
  The College of William and Mary, Advisor: Dr. Matthias Leu
  Wood Thrush microhabitat associations: implications for species persistence in human-modified landscapes

 Award for Excellence

• Elizabeth Radue, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Irina Novikova
  Surface Plasmon Resonance and Insulator-Metal Transition in Gold and Vanadium Dioxide Bilayer Films

Honorable Mention

• Ed Novak,Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  A Study of the Effect of Deep UV (172nm) Irradiation on Polyimide Surfaces

• Melissa Beebe, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. R. Ale Lukaszew
  Surface Plasmon Resonance Enhancement via Oblique Thin Film Deposition on Gratings

2014

Northrop Grumman Corporation Award

• Yudistira Virgus, Physics 
  The College of William and Mary, Advisor: Dr. Henry Krakauer 
  The Stability, Energetics, and Magnetic States of Cobalt Adatoms Adsorbed on Graphene

Award for Excellence

• Yunhan Long, Applied Science
  Advisor: Dr. Leah Shaw
  Effect of communication on epidemic spreading in adaptive social networks with awareness
• Yifan Zhang, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li

  CacheKeeper: A System-wide Web Caching Service for Smartphones

Honorable Mention

•  David Nguyen, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Gang Zhou
  Smartphone Energy Savings through I/O Path Optimizations
• Joshua Magee, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. David Armstrong

  The Qweak Experiment: Implications from the First Determination

2013

Northrop Grumman Corporation Award

• Jessica Ebers, Biology
  The College of William and Mary, Advisor: Dr. Daniel Cristol
  The Effect of Methylmercury on Immune Responnse to a Common Parasite in Zebra Finches

Award for Excellence

• William Roach, Applied Science
  Advisor: Dr. R. Ale Lukaszew
   Niobium Nitride Thin Films and Multilayers for Superconducting Radio Frequency Cavities

• Yudistira Virgus, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Henry Krakauer
  Ab initio many-body study of cobalt adatoms adsorbed on graphene

Honorable Mention

• Hao Han, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  DozyAP: Power-Efficient Wi-Fi Tethering
• Wei Wei, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li

  LBSNSim: A Trace-driven Model for Online Location-based Social Networks

2012

Northrop Grumman Corporation Award

• Matt Simons, Physics

  The College of William and Mary, Advisor: Dr. Irina Novikova
  Bright squeezed light from a whispering-gallery mode resonator via second harmonic generation

Award for Excellence

• Yudistira Virgus, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Henry Krakauer
  Many-body effects in cobalt adatoms absorbed on graphene

Honorable Mention

• Kathleen Moorem, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Pieter Peers
  The Effect of Translucency on Photometric Stereo

• Wei Wei, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  MobiShare: Flexible Privacy-Preserving Location Sharing in Mobile Online Social Networks

2011

Northrop Grumman Corporation Award

• Wei Wei, Computer Science

  The College of William and Mary, Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  SybilDefender: Defend Against Sybil Attacks in Large Social Networks

Award for Excellence

• Zhengrui Qin, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  A Prototype System for Cardiac Telemetry

Honorable Mention

• Travis S. Horrom, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Eugeniy Mikhailov
  Polarization Self-Rotation in an Ultra-Cold Atomic Cloud

• Fengyuan Xu, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Qun Li
  IMDGuard: Securing Implantable Medical Devices with the External Wearable Guardian

2010

Incogen, Inc. Award

• Sara Kampfe, Chemistry
  Advisor: Dr. Deborah Bebout
  Processing and Conversion of Algae to Bioethanol

Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute Award

• Duy Le, Computer Science
  College of William & Mary. Advisor: Dr. Haining Wang
  Detecting Kernel Level Keyloggers Through Dynamic Taint Analysis

Award for Excellence

• Lei Lu, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Evgenia Smirni
  Blocking for Efficient Server Overload Management under Bursty Arrivals

Honorable Mention

• Shahla Nasserasr, Applied Science/Mathematics
  Advisor: Dr. Charles Johnson
  Conditions for a TP2-Completion
• Kevin Smith, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Gunter Luepke
  Optical Control of Ultrafast Spin-wave Relaxation by Magnetic Anisotropy in a Ferromagnet

2009

Incogen, Inc. Award

• Erik Spahr, Physics
  Advisor: Dr. Gunter Luepke
  A New Look at Proton Conduction in Perovskite Oxides

Award for Excellence

• Chuan Yue, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Haining Wang
  Anti-Phishing in Offense and Defense

Honorable Mention

• Ashley R. DeCarme, Biology
  Advisor: Dr. Eric Engstrom
  Ethylene Production in Plants: Is the ACC Oxidase Enzyme at Work in Selaginella moellendorffii?
• M. Louise Lammons, Biology
  Advisors: Dr. S. Laurie Sanderson and Dr. Randy Chambers
  Mud and Mucus: Feeding Selectivity in a Suspension-feeding Detritivorous Fish

2008

Incogen, Inc. Award

• Ningfang Mi, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Evgenia Smirni
  Performance Impacts of Autocorrelated Flows in Multi-tiered Systems

Award for Excellence

• Jonathan Holley, Biology
  Advisor: Dr. Randolph M. Chambers
  Water Quality in Headwater Streams: A Test of Best Management Practices

Honorable Mention

• Mary Levillain, Psychology
  Advisor: Dr. Pamela S. Hunt
  Can Nicotine Ameliorate Memory Deficits found in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?
• Meghan Revelle, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. David Coppit
  How to Find a Needle in a Digital Haystack

2007

Award for Excellence

• Andriy Fedorov, Computer Science
  Advisor: Dr. Nikos Chrisochoides
  Near-Real-Time Nonrigid Registration for Image Guided Neurosurgery Using Commodity and Grid Computing

Honorable Mention

• Alex Gunerson, Biology, 
  Advisor: Dr. John Swaddle
  Resistance of Melanized Feathers to Bacterial Degradation: Is it Really so Black and White?
• Caitlin Kight, Applied Science
  Advisor: Dr. John Swaddle
  Does Historical Exposure to Humans Affect Current Responses to Anthropogenic Disturbance? A Multispecies Comparison
• Elise Larsen, Biology
  Advisor: Dr. Bryan Watts
  Do Birds Like McDonalds? How Diet Affects Bird Diversity in the City