Congratulations to this year's award winners, honorees, and graduates!
Maia Cohen won this year's Ernest L. Ohle, Jr. Prize. The Ohle Prize is presented to the senior judged to have the greatest promise for a successful career in the Earth or planetary sciences and who has demonstrated superior academic achievement. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Cohen will be moving to Boston to pursue a doctorate in geophysics through the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Joint Program. During her time in the WashU Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Cohen served as co-president of the geology club with fellow graduate Ellie Moreland. Cohen recalls her undergraduate field work in Patagonia with particular fondness and looks forward to continued adventures in geoscience.
Ellie Moreland won this year's Courtney Werner Memorial Prize. The Werner Prize is awarded to a senior student who has majored in Earth and planetary sciences and who has demonstrated outstanding academic achievement. Following graduation, Moreland will be attending Rice University to pursue a doctorate in Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences under the direction of fellow WashU EPS alumna, Kirsten Siebach. While at WashU, Moreland was on the Dean's List and won a Summer Undergraduate Teaching Award (SURA) to support research in Jeff Catalano's lab in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Moreland also participated in WashU's Varsity Women's Soccer program and served as a Student Tour Leader for four years.
The Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences recognizes two graduating seniors with departmental distinctions, awarded for successful completion of undergraduate theses:
Ellie Moreland, advisor Ray Arvidson, received Highest Distinction in Earth and Planetary Sciences for her thesis titled, "Mineralogy of Aeolian Deposits in Gale Crater, Mars: The Bagnold Dunes to Glen Torridon."
Andrew Guertin, advisor Jeff Catalano, received High Distinction in Earth and Planetary Sciences for his thesis titled, "Predictive Weathering and Secondary Mineral Formation of Hadean Mafic and Ultramafic Rock." Following graduation, Guertin will return to the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences as a faculty assistant, primarily working with labs and operations for EPSC 201: Earth and the Environment.
We also proudly present our class of 2021:
William John Gorman Carnevale
Nicholas Kaig Charlton-Perrin
Maia Eve Cohen
Michael Geistler
Andrew Silverman Guertin
Sophia Rose Kronick
Eleanor Louise Moreland
Olivia Sabina Shaw
Allison Rose Sheets
Congratulations to all our graduates!
