∫ archive ∫ Outstanding Undergraduate Researchers
2006 Sponsor: Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs
Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs and Microsoft Research are sponsors in alternate years.
2006 Selection Committee
Richard Waters (Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs) Chair; Duane Bailey (Williams College); Anne Condon (University of British Columbia); and Deepak Kumar (Bryn Mawr College)
2006Jenny Yuen
∫ Female Awardee ∫
Senior at University of Washington
Jenny Yuen is a senior at the University of Washington majoring in Computer Science and Engineering.
Jenny’s research is on object and concept recognition for content-based image retrieval. This work has led to one publication with several more on the way. In the past year her focus has been on a medical application of image analysis. In this project she is performing like a graduate student, developing novel techniques of her own design and implementing them to produce a working system. Jenny has worked as a summer intern at both Microsoft and Google and has received scholarships from both companies.
Prior to attending the University of Washington, Jenny attended Escuela Nacional Preparatoria (the National High School of Mexico) where she was one of the top ten students in a class of 11,000 students. As a junior at the University of Washington she received an Honorable Mention in the CRA’s 2005 Outstanding Undergraduate Award competition. In addition to research, Jenny has worked as a consultant for the Minority Science & Engineering program, and is strongly involved in the student chapter of the ACM.
2006David Eisenstat
∫ Male Awardee ∫
Senior at University of Rochester
David Eisenstat is a senior at the University of Rochester. He is majoring in Computer Science with a minor, and potentially a second degree, in Mathematics.
David has done significant research in both Theoretical Computer Science and Mathematics. At Rochester he has worked on a range of deep problems in the areas of parallel computing, distributed computing and computational complexity. This has led to one published paper and several other papers in preparation. David has participated in NSF’s Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) program for two summers, doing mathematical work in the areas of combinatorics and graph theory. This has led to several papers currently under review. In his computer science and mathematics work, David is a prime innovator, doing work that is clearly the equal of a good graduate student.
In addition to being an excellent theoretician, David is a skilled programmer and has a near-perfect GPA. He was elected to Phi Beta Kappa as a junior and is president of the student ACM chapter. His computer science interests are complemented with a keen interest in choral singing, as well as music theory and composition.
2006Susanna Ricco
∫ Female Runner-Up ∫
Senior at Harvey Mudd College
Susanna Ricco is a senior at Harvey Mudd College, with a joint major in Computer Science and Mathematics.
Susanna has pursued two independent areas of research. Working for two summers at Sandia National labs, she has created a system for adjusting a detailed model of an aerodynamic shape so that it closely matches observed vibrational data. She surpassed all expectations by creating a fully automatic system. At Harvey Mudd Susanna was the organizational and technical lead of the four-person team that created Harvey Mudd’s entry into AAAI’s 2005 robot competition. This robot won the competition even though it was an order of magnitude cheaper than any other entry and all of the code was written from scratch by the team members.
Susanna has received scholarships from Lockheed Martin and Akamai. She is strongly involved in the student chapter of the ACM. In addition to her computer science interests, Susanna holds an FCC amateur radio license and is active in public service and emergency communications.
2006Kanat Tangwongsan
∫ Male Runner-Up ∫
Senior at Carnegie Mellon University
Kanat Tangwongsan is a senior at Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in Computer Science.
Kanat’s research combines theoretical computer science and system building. His primary work is toward a semi-automated system for converting static algorithms that compute an output from an input into dynamic algorithms that efficiently maintain an input/output relationship as the input changes incrementally. This work has required both system-building skills and the theoretical discovery of new algorithms and data structures. The work has led to one publication and two more papers currently in preparation.
In addition to his research and the time required to obtain a perfect GPA, Kanat spends a lot of time as a teaching assistant and mentoring other students. Prior to entering CMU, Kanat won first place in Thailand’s National Olympiad of Informatics in 2000.
Finalists (Female)
Sarah Aerni, UC San Diego
Dana Glasner, New York University/Yeshiva University
Anna Huang, University of Southern California
Kathryn Seyboth, Tufts University
Inna Zakharevich, Harvard University
Finalists (Male)
Salvatore Guarnieri, University of Virginia
Jonathan Su, University of Washington
Robert (Kang-Xing) Jin, Harvard University
Yevgeniy Medynskiy, Cornell University
Christopher Hundt, McGill University
Honorable Mentions (Female)
Timsy Bir, University of Colorado at Boulder
Claire Lackner, Columbia University
Catherine Lennon, Columbia University
Marjorie Locke, University of Western Ontario
Lindsay Semler, DePaul University
Marcella Tanzil, Ohio State University
Ella Wellman, University of Wyoming
Sherita Andrews, Auburn University
Krista Davis, University of Washington
Danielle VanDyke, Michigan Technological University.
Honorable Mentions (Male)
John Novatnack, Drexel University
Gregory Harm, Brown University
Abninder Litt, University of Waterloo
Benjamin Hindman, University of Washington
Evan Sultanik, Drexel University
David Blinn, Dartmouth College
Khanh Do Ba, Dartmouth College
Wei Tu, University of California at Berkeley
Muhammad Ahmad, Rochester Institute of Technology
Wei-Lung Dustin Tseng, University of British Columbia.
