The Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) has recognized five students with awards.
Four undergraduates have received Peter J. Eloranta Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships, given each year to students planning a summer research investigation or creative study in virtually any field. The $6,000 fellowships went to Helen Y. Lee, a senior in architecture from Parsippany, NY for her project (entitled "Glass"); freshman Margarita Marinova of Tornonto, Ontario ("Understanding Mars' Climate though Studies of Mass Wasting in the Arctic"); John McBean, a junior in mechanical engineering from Rothesaym New Brunswick, Canada ("Fusing Art and Engineering: Design and Construction of an Aqua-Kinetic Sculpture") and Laurel P. Smith, a senior in electrical engineering and computer science from Oakton, VA ("Fusing Two Contrasting Musical Worlds: Bringing Classical and Techno Music Together").
First awarded in 1969, the Eloranta fellowships are a gift from the late Dr. Edwin H. Land, founder and president of the Polaroid Corp., and were established in memory of the late Peter J. Eloranta, an employee of Polaroid and a member of the Class of 1968.
The Randolph G. Wei UROP Award is given each spring to an undergraduate who has made the most outstanding contribution in undergraduate research at the interface of the life sciences and engineering. The award was established in 1986 in memory of Randolph G. Wei, a member of the Class of 1987 who majored in biology and chemical engineering and was an active UROP participant.
This year's recipient is Cynthia Reinhart, a senior in biology from Newtown Square, PA. She is second author of a paper (with her advisor, Professor Douglas Lauffenburger, and others) that will be submitted to the Journal of Cell Biology.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 31, 2000.
