The university's top award comes with $15,000 to support and celebrate academic and creative achievements.
Fifteen rising juniors at Elon have been named recipients of the 2013 Lumen Prize, the university’s premier award that comes with a $15,000 scholarship to support and celebrate their academic achievements and research proposals.
Lumen Scholars will work closely with their mentors over the next two years to pursue and complete their projects. Efforts will include course work, study abroad, research both on campus and abroad as well as during the regular academic year and summers, internships locally and abroad, program development, and creative productions and performances.
The name for the Lumen Prize comes from Elon’s historic motto, “Numen Lumen,” which are Latin words meaning “spiritual light” and “intellectual light.” The words, which are found on the Elon University seal, signify the highest purposes of an Elon education.
The 2013 winners include the following:
Katherine Blunt
History / Journalism
Project title: “The Power of the Fourth Estate: Media Framing of Six Prominent Political Leaders at the Height of Conflict”
Mentor: David Copeland
Molly Burgoyne
Exercise Science
Project title: “Rocking Chairs, Yoga Balls, and Fidget Toys: Role of Heightened Sensory Tools on Classroom Performance for Students with Learning Differences”
Mentor: Caroline Ketcham
Taylor Davis
Chemistry
Project title: “Analysis of BCL-2 Proteins During Heart Development”
Mentor: Victoria Moore
Brianna Duff
English/Physics
Project title: “I Travel Light: A Short Story Collection Exploring the Complex Human Responses to Scientific Progress”
Mentor: Claudine Moreau
Bethany Hill
Art
Project title: “Performing the Bride: Visuality, Female Authority, and the Sacred Spaces of Mechthild von Magdeburg’s Flowing Light of the Godhead”
Mentor: David Neville
Thomas Lampl
Chemistry
Project title: “Investigation of the Cellular Mechanism of Apoptosis in Acute Kidney Injury During Sepsis”
Mentor: Victoria Moore
Rachel Mehaffey
Dance
Project title: “Challenging Gender Representations within Codified Dance Styles: The Staging of Original Dance Pieces with Pre-performance Exploration of Dancer Agency”
Mentor: Lauren Kearns
Omolayo Nkemakonam Ojo
International Studies / Communications
Project title: “Across the Atlantic and Back Again: Transnational Narratives of Murid Senegalese in Dakar and New York City”
Mentor: Tom Mould
Sarah Paille-Jansa
Public Health Studies
Project title: “The Embodiment of Fear: Exploring Cultural Constructions of Childbirth and the Prenatal Decisions of Expectant Mothers”
Mentor: Aunchalee Palmquist
Nicole Payne
Music / International Studies
Project title: “¡Qué Viva El Ritmo!: Exploring the Sources, Meaning and Identity of Afro-Cuban Music.”
Mentor: Victoria Fischer Faw
Mary Rouse
Political Science
Project title: “Saying One Thing, Doing Another: Hypocrisy in US and Soviet Foreign Policies”
Mentor: Laura Roselle
Rachel Nicole Shippee
International Studies / English
Project title: “Creating Change: Women’s Organizations’ Contribution to Raising Awareness of Women’s Rights”
Mentor: Michael Matthews
Marquessa K. Smith-Lin
Economics
Project title: “The Effectiveness of Formal and Informal Savings Institutions in Indonesia on Household’s Ability to Cope with Unexpected Economic Shocks”
Mentor: Stephen DeLoach
Lauren Sutherland
Biochemistry
Project title: “Effect of Aflatoxins on T and B Lymphocyte Function”
Mentor: Tonya Laakko Train
Kaylyn Davis Tousignant
Biology
Project title: “The effect of Obesogens on the microbiota and systemic health in zebrafish”
Mentor: Jennifer Uno
Scholarship recipients were chosen through a two-step process. Candidates submitted applications with background statements and project proposals, a letter of nomination from a faculty mentor, and an additional letter of recommendation. The second stage consisted of an interview.
A dinner in honor of this year’s Lumen Prize recipients will be held in May at the Maynard House. Members of the faculty selection committee for 2012-2013 include:
Ann J. Cahill, director of the Lumen Prize program
Wally Bixby
Ben Evans
Matt Buckmaster
Lucinda Austin
Greg Haenel
Ken Hassell
Aunchalee Palmquist
Janet Myers, ex officio
Steve Bednar
Mary Knight McKenna