The Penn State University Libraries announce the results of the 2013 Outstanding Undergraduate Thesis Award. Top winner of the $1000 award is Katherine Liss, nursing, for her thesis “Heart Failure Patients’ Experiences of Living with Heart Failure.”

(left to right) Reva Baylets, Andrew Garrison, and top-award winner Katherine Liss

Reva Baylets, comparative literature, was awarded $500 for her thesis “Discovery and Loss: Intersections of Identity in ‘The Business of Fancydancing’ (2002) and ‘Transamerica’ (2005).” Andrew Garrison, mathematics, was awarded $250 for his thesis “Leveraging Disturbance Autocorrelation to Achieve Management Goals at Minimal Cost.”

The annual competition, coordinated by Endowed/Distinguished Chairs/Librarians, includes a review of the submitted theses by a faculty jury and a public oral presentation by the students chosen as finalists. It provides an opportunity to fully appreciate the academic quality of Penn State students and the depth of their undergraduate research.

This year’s panel of judges included Diane Zabel, chair and the Louis and Virginia Benzak Business Librarian; Bill Brockman, Paterno Family Librarian for Literature; Bonnie Osif, engineering librarian; Deryck Holdsworth, professor of geography; and Vandana Kalia, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical science.

Barbara I. Dewey, dean of University Libraries and Scholarly Communications, explains, “The Libraries initiated this award as a way to emphasize the importance of utilizing quality research methods and employing a thorough understanding of the legal and ethical issues related to the use of information—both key components of academic excellence. Through this award, the University Libraries with the Schreyer Honors College seek to encourage excellence in the research process of locating, evaluating, and utilizing appropriate scholarly resources.”

For more about the award and last year’s winners, see http://www.libraries.psu.edu/psul/admin/thesisaward.html