MIT's annual writing competition has been named in honor of a long-time instructor, Ilona Karmel, a senior lecturer in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies, who will retire this year.
For many years, Karmel has made outstanding contributions to creative writing at MIT. "She is "particularly known for her inspirational teaching and relationships with students," said Professor Alan Lightman, director of the program. Ms. Karmel is the author of two novels, Stafania and An Estate of Memory.
Nineteen students were recognized for their writing accomplishments at an awards ceremony last month. Their works were selected from some 170 entered in this year's contest.
Paulo A. Pereira, a senior and joint major in humanities and engineering from New Bedford, received the Boit Manuscript Prize for drama for his work entitled "Amarelo." Ivana Komarcevic, a junior in mathematics and theater arts from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, was runner-up, and Richard McKern, a senior in writing from Needham, MA, received an honorable mention.
Boris Pevzner, a graduate student in electrical engineering from Elmhurst, NY, was awarded first place in the S. Klein Prize for Scientific and Technical Writing for his paper entitled "From Astrophysics to Nanotechnology: C60, the Cosmic Soot."
In the essay category of the Robert A. Boit Writing Prize, first place went to Lucia Lim, a senior in chemical engineering from Honolulu, for his work entitled "Silence." Second place went to Jason M. Prenoveau, a junior in chemical engineering from Loudenville, NY. Guang-Ien Cheng, a sophomore in computer science from Potomac, MD, was awarded third place, and Esther Dutton, a junior in aeronautics and astronautics from Merritt Island, FL, received an honorable mention.
First place in the poetry category went to Sissela S. Park, a junior in biology from Danbury, CT, for "Flavors of Women." Second place was awarded to Celeste Winant, a senior in physics from Solana Beach, CA, and Dhaya Lakshiminarayanan, a junior in urban studies and planning from Roswell, GA, received third place.
Short story first place winner was Chris Tang, a sophomore in electrical engineering from Springfield Garden, NY, for his story "Long Island Blue." Lucius Lau, a junior in biology from Honolulu, was awarded second place. Third place went to Casey F. Sackett, a junior at the Sloan School from Fort Myers, FL, and Amy McKenna, a senior at the Sloan School from Spicewood, TX, received an honorable mention.
First place in the DeWitt Wallace Prize for Science Writing for the Public was awarded to Eva Moy, a senior in mechanical engineering from Springfield, VA, for her paper entitled "Cookie Science 101." Anne S. Kohnen, also a senior in mechanical engineering from Portland, OR, received second place, and an honorable mention went to August Chang, a sophomore in biology from East Greenwich, RI.
An honorable mention was awarded in the Writing and Humanistic Studies Prize for Engineering Writing; it went to Zachira Castro, a senior in aeronautics and astronautics from Lake Mary, FL.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on June 7, 1995.
