Research Opportunities

*Because we have not been able to award the prize for the past two years, we are giving two prizes this year to support two exemplary projects.

One prize goes to Elise Williams, who recently completed a thesis titled “The Artwork of Tragedy: Roman Children’s Funerary Altars with Portraits and their Functions,” which was awarded Highest Honors in Art History. By studying photographs and written descriptions, Elise was able to catalog 45 ancient Roman altars, documenting their iconography and inscriptions; the Ernstoff Prize will allow her to continue her research this summer by visiting the altars in person—seeing for herself the objects she has known only through imperfect images and descriptions. Many are in museums, but she also plans to visit at least some of their find spots to better understand how the altars, as originally placed, may have interacted with the landscape and even engaged with passersby. Ultimately, she hopes to pursue this topic in a PhD program, continuing to build on the foundation she established at Emory.

The second prize goes to Isabelle Bracewell, who will design and construct a native-wood table for the atrium of the Math and Science Center. Her project was conceived in the spirit of the Arts & Crafts Movement, which she has researched this year as part of a Directed Study that culminated in a paper titled “Renovating the Interior: A Queer Reading of the Social History of the Arts and Crafts and Aesthetic Movements in Victorian England.” The project also draws on the experience she has gained as an intern with the Physics Department, creating an exhibition of antique scientific instruments; and with the Atlanta Beltline, exploring public engagement with physical materials in both architectural and natural spaces. Her hope is to create a beautiful, lasting, and environmentally responsible monument where students in the arts and sciences can gather and converse.

First Prize
Meera Sood for "Strictly Religious? An Exploration of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Practices," written for Andrew Ward's Ancient Greek Sanctuaries

Second Prize
Caitlin Burns for "Constructing Community: From the Theoretical Foundations of EPCOT to the Built Environment of Celebration," written for Christina Crawford's The Architect + the City 

Zimra Chickering for "The Imagined Jew: Hyenas, Owls, and the Mutable Imagery of the Religious 'Other,'" written for Elizabeth Pastan's Medieval Bestiary

Honorable Mention
Andee Koo for "Contrasting the Motivations of Green Suburbs: Riverside and Levittown," written for Christina Crawford's The Architect + the City

First Prize
Nick Pehrson for "Greenbelt, Maryland, as an Experiment in Socialism," written for Christina Crawford's The Architect + the City

Daniel Meek for "Revisiting Winslow Homer's Guardian Dyad," written for Linda Merrill's Winslow Homer in Context

2020

First Place: Victoria Gu

Second Place: Shayna Gutridge

Third Place: Rizky Etika

2019

Shared First Place: Olivia Chang and Parth Goyal

2018

First Place: Adam Ring

Honorable Mention: Cecily Spindel

2017

First Place: Ekaterina Koposova

Honorable Mention: Darby Caso

2016

Shared First Place: Madeline Drace and Jenifer Norwalk

2015

First Place: Yujun Yan

Second Place: Hannah Rose Blakeley

2014

Shared First Place: Margaret Gregg and Daniel J. Majarwitz

2013

First Place: Caitlin Ryan

Second Place: Peter Boudreau

2012

First Place: Erin Dunn

Second Place: Rebecca Levitan

Honorable Mention: Wu Rui

2011

First Place: Rebecca Pedersen

2010

Shared First Place: Jen Levy and Marie-Helene Gagnon

2009

First Place: Jen Levy

Second Place: Laura Daly

2008

First Place: Joanna Levine

Second Place: Laura Michelson

2007

First Place: Anne-Marie Gann

2006

Shared First Place: Emily Bacher and Nicole Cridland

2005

First Place: Peter Clericuzio

Second Place: Joshua Backer

2004

Shared First Place: Peter Clericuzio and Plamena Milusheva

2003

First Place: Tim Adams

Second Place: Scott Walter