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Prize | PBK

Phi Beta Kappa Prize

Quinn Cavin '19 with Prof. Scott Himsel

Each year the Wabash Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa awards a prize "to that undergraduate who is judged to have produced the most original and meritorious piece of work, whether artistic or analytical." The terms of the prize specify that it was "established to encourage work of high creative and scholarly merit, as distinct from proficiency in normal course work." Many winners have done their work on their own, in collaboration with a faculty member or another student, or as part of an extracurricular activity. Work completed as part of a course is also eligible, but the committee has usually expected work that transcended normal course requirements. Merely an "A" paper is not sufficient. This prize has been awarded to work as varied as published research, research projects, collections of poems or paintings, theatrical or musical performances, original musical compositions or films, public deliberation, and student journalism.

2023 — One Award
  • Logan Weilbaker
    • Crossword puzzles in the Bachelor. 

2022 — Three Awards
  • Adam Berg 
    • Founding student member in an interdisciplinary project entitled LOCKR combining biochemistry and animal research.
  • Noah Miller, Abraham Wade, Benjamin Sampsell, Seth Kirkpatrick, and Jacob Talbert
    • This team led a WDPD deliberation in October 2021 on the “Wabash History of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”.
  • Hunter Seidler
    • Essay entitled “Amateurism’s Death in Chicago: The Supreme Court’s Conservative Views of Antitrust in NCAA v. Alston.”

2021 — Two Awards
  • Daniel Cuevas
    • Choral arrangement of the African-American spiritual “O Freedom” and original music composition for jazz combo entitled “Su encantamiento”
  • Andrew Freck
    • Research paper “Rising Tide Migrations: The So-Called ‘Climate Refugee’ as Hannah Arendt’s ‘Scum of the Earth’”
2020 — No prize awarded
2019 — One Award
  • Quinn Cavin
    • Original film "Rain Dance" pictured above with Professor Himsel

2018 — One Award
  • William Kelly
    • Research paper “The Lessons and Legacy of War: Remembering Vietnam”
2017 — One Award to a team of four students
  • Anthony Douglas, John Janak, Michael Lumpkin, and Macallister Norton
    • Public deliberation project “Economic Opportunities in Leslie County”
2016 — Two Awards
  • Thien Minh Quan
    • (Published physics research
  • Immanuel Mitchell-Sodipe and Ben Cramer
    • Creative work related to South African immersion trip
2015 — Two Awards
  • Aaron Wirthwein
    • Physics research "String Analog to the Mach-Zehnder Interferometer"
  • Cameron Dennis
    • Physics research "Negative Refraction in Meta-Strings and Meta-Membranes"
2014 — Two Awards
  • Joe Mount
    • MacBeth performance and related research presentation
  • Wes Hauser
    • Published research on the distribution of Lumholtz’s Tree Kangaroo in Australia
2013 —One Award
  • Peter Santa Maria and Weston Kitley
    • Chemistry research project

2012 — Two Awards
  • Geoffrey (Gus) McKinney
    • Staged reading and theater performances
  • Tuan Nguyen
    • Published biology research "The inner membrane protein, YhiM, is necessary for Escherichia coli (E. coli) survival in acidic conditions"
2011 — Two Awards
  • Patrick Stroud 
    • Paper on Esperanto “La Lingvo Internacia”
  • Michael Trevino
    • Research project “Induction of Oral Development in Regenerating Nematostella vectensis.”
2010 —Two Awards
Jonathan O'Donnell
Mitch Brown

2009 —One Award
Spencer Elliott
2008 — One Award
Kyle Prifogle
2007 —Two Awards
Ross B. Dillard
Brett T. Gann Jr.

2006 — Two Awards
Russell D. Harbaugh
William E. Whited
2005 — One Award
Justin R. Grimmer
2004 — One Award
Michael Bricker