Past Undergraduate Awards

The Sigma Xi Book Award

2022

2021

  • Anika Yardi - “Using Monte Carlo Markov Chain Methods to Understand the Mathematics and Visualization of Gerrymandering in Politically Competitive Districts” Advised by Robert Vanderbei
  • Kabir Sarita - “Style Transfer in Poetry” Advised by Boris Hanin
  • Fatomata Konteh - “Theory in Practice: A Study of Momentum Definitions and Market State on Momentum Returns in the South African Market” Advised by Mykhaylo Shkolnikov

2020

  • Neil Slighton - “Optimization for Planning and Design of Regional Mini-Grid Development in Rural India” Advised by Eric Larson
  • Ashley Willingham - “Developing Models for Predictive Analytics in Track and Field” Advised by Amir Ali Ahmadi
  • Kara Dowling - “A Multi-Agent Stochastic Control Model for Adversarial Planning in Naval Operations” Advised by Warren Powell
  • Tan Shanker - “The Sky's the Limit; Predicting the Expansion of Commercial Aviation in Dubai” Advised by Ludovic Tangpi

2019

  • Bulut Cakmak - “Comparing Stock Portfolio Strategies Using Stochastic Volatility Models ” Advised by Professor Mykhaylo Shkolnikov
  • Yowan Ramchoreeter - “Understanding the limits of Artificial Intelligence through Adversarial Examples ” Advised by Professor Alain Kornhauser

S. S. Wilks Memorial Prize

2022

2021

  • Kevin You - “Short-Term Stock Price Prediction Using High-Dimensional Techniques” Advised by Jianqing Fan
  • Irina Liu - “Language Conventions Across Communities: A Hierarchical Bayesian Approach to the Theory of Generalization” Advised by Matias Cattaneo
  • Wilbur Wang - “A Machine Learning Approach to Guiding Altruistic Strategic Behavior” Advised by Jason Klusowski

2020

  • Michael Li - “The Calibration of the Heston Model Using Neural Network Pricing Approximations” Advised by Mete Soner
  • Tony Chen- “Factor-Adjusted Regularized Model Selection for Logistic Regression in the Presence of Missing Data” Advised by Jianqing Fan

2019

  • Timothy Lou - “Improving Estimation of Factor Risk Premia via Robust Covariance Techniques” Advised by Professor Jianqing Fan

The Procter and Gamble Prize

2022

2021

  • Zachary Holecek - “Interfirm Networks: Systemic Risk and Market Returns” Advised by Miklos Racz
  • Isabella Faccone - “Tools to Understand 2016 Voter Influence Tactics in Comparison with the 2020 Election: Applications of Network Topology, Information Cascades and Rumor Recurrence” Advised by Miklos Racz
  • Cristina Hain - “The Virulence of a Tweet: The Effects of Twitter Language on COVID-19 Spread” Advised by Prof. Jason Klusowski

2020

  • Millian Gehrer - “Tailoring the NHS Health Check: Targeted, Cost-Effective Screening for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention” Advised by Amir Ali Ahmadi
  • Madhu Shridharan - “The Little Wind Farm that Could: A Comparative Analysis of Lookahead Policies for Energy Storage Problems” Advised by Warren Powell

2019

  • Rik Nag - “Scheduling Exoplanet Observations Across A Network Of Telescopes ” Advised by Professor Robert Vanderbei
  • Arav Arora - “Machine Learning-Based Strategies to Optimize Salary Cap Allocation in the National Football League ” Advised by Professor Amirali Ahmadi

The Eric F. S. Pai ‘83 Prize

2022

2021

  • Nabil Yessuf - “Predicting Mortagage Default Risk Using Cost-Sensitive Learning and Resampling Techniques: An Empirical Classification Analysis with Single Family Loan-Level Data” Advised by Ludovic Tangpi
  • Christopher Yang - “Trading under Crisis: A Study of Stock Pricing in the COVID Market” Advised by Jianqing Fan
  • Zachary Abraham - “A Machine Learning Approach to Post-Earnings Stock Price Predictions” Advised by Mete Soner

2020

  • Ryan Gao - "Random Forest and Gradient Boosting Applications in Forecasting Corporate Capital Structure” Advised by Margaret Holen

2019

  • Gavin Zhu - “Alternative Swaption Price Modeling for Low Rate Environments ” Advised by Professor Ronnie Sircar

Admiral W. Mack Angus Memorial Prize

2022

2021

  • Eileen Wang - “Diagnosing Racial Bias in Machine Learning: An Examination of Fairness in Medical Appointment Scheduling Optimization Models” Advised by Robert Vanderbei

2020

  • Mick Sornwanee - “Multi-Regime, Goal-Based Retirement Solutions: Sensitivity Analysis and Post-Retirement Performance Comparison of Dynamic Strategies” Advised by John Mulvey
  • Benjamin Schiffer - “Approximate Trace Reconstruction and Related Results” Advised by Miklos Racz

2019

  • Connor Bridges - “Maternal and Infant Health in the United States: An Investigation of Pregnancy Outcomes ” Advised by Professor William Massey

Ahmet S. Çakmak Prize

2022

  • Wesley Domsalla - "Exploding and Vanishing Gradients in High-Channel Convolutional Neural Networks" Advised by Boris Hanin

2021

  • Joseph Sartini - “Direct Determination of Object Trajectories: An Alternative to Traditional Object Detection and Tracking in Autonomous Vehicles” Advised by Alain Kornhauser
  • Alex Cheng - “PrimeTime: A Case Study of an Autonomous Last-Mile Parcel Delivery Network in New Jersey” Advised by Alain Kornhauser
  • Daniel Gitelman - “FOMO Fever: How the Democratization of Finance Quashed Efficient Markets” Advised by Ronnie Sircar

2020

  • William Dong - “Pigskin Predictions: Estimating In-Game Win Probabilities for American Football” Advised by Mykhaylo Shkolnikov
  • David Zhou - “Deep Learning for Pricing and Hedging Options and Optimizing Portfolios with Applications” Advised by Ronnie Sircar
  • Adam Chang - “Networks in a World Unknown: Public WhatsApp Groups in the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis” Advised by Miklos Racz

2019

  • Mayee Chen - “A Quantum Version of the Multiplicative Weights Algorithm ” Advised by Professor Elad Hazan
  • Earning Yomjinda - “The Optimizer’s Guide to Money Laundering: Navigating Detection Algorithms with Naïve Beam Search” Advised by Professor Amirali Ahmadi
  • Amanda Brown - “Beat the Curve: Designing Adaptive Blood Glucose Management Strategies for Non-Pump Patients with Type 1 Diabetes ” Advised by Professor Warren Powell

Kenneth H. Condit ‛13 Prize

2022

  • Wesley Domsalla - "Exploding and Vanishing Gradients in High-Channel Convolutional Neural Networks" Advised by Boris Hanin

2021

  • Alan Wong - “COVID-19 Misinformation Spread: A Multi-dataset Analysis of Engagement, Propagation, and Sentiment Polarity” Advised by Miklos Racz

2020

  • Audrey Cheng - “Unifying Caching Objectives with Learning Relaxed Belady” Advised by Wyatt Lloyd
  • Rayleen Hu - “An Aging Society: Implications of Population Control Policies on the Chinese Social Security System” Advised by Mete Soner

2019

  • Benjamin Laufer - “Compounding Injustice: History and Prediction in Carceral Decision-Making ” Advised by Professor Miklos Racz

The Frank Castellana Prize

2022

2021

  • Taishi Nakase - “Measles Redux: Modeling Vaccination Campaigns Under Resource Limitations in Northern Vietnam” Advised by Mykhaylo Shkolnikov

2020

  • Nicholas Johnson - “Sequential Stochastic Network Structure Optimization with Applications to Addressing Canada's Obesity Epidemic” Advised by Miklos Racz

2019

  • Eric Chen - “Life-Cycle Asset Allocation Strategies for Individual Investors” Advised by Professor John Mulvey