2026 Candidates—V

EDEN S. VACHTEL — Biomedical Engineering   

Advanced Scholarship - Multidisciplinary Honors 

Machine Learning for Predicting Food and Nutrition Insecurity in the United States 

Chaitra Gopalappa, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering 

 

LUCAS B. VALENTINE — Sustainable Food & Farming   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

The Hands and Faces That Feed Us 

Amanda D. Brown, Stockbridge School of Agriculture 

 

VICTORIA VALLEE — Art and Design   

Advanced Scholarship - Multidisciplinary Honors 

 

OWEN G. VAN BEVER — English   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Characterization Through Epiphany: Two Stories 

John J. Hennessy, English 

 

MILO M. VAN MOOY — Physics   

General Studies & Departmental Honors 

Buoyancy Compensation Using Magnetic Levitation of Inertial Particles in Fluid Flows 

Varghese Mathai, Physics 

 

ADHITHI VARADARAJAN — Chemical Engineering   

General Studies & Departmental Honors 

Chymotrypsin Activity in Peptide-Based Coacervates 

Sarah L. Perry, Chemical Engineering 

 

MARY ELIZABETH A. VAUGHAN — Linguistics   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

What's in a Nickname? Phonological Patterns of Hockey Hypocoristics Across Gender and Level of Play 

Lisa Green, Linguistics 

 

EMMA J. VAUGHN — Biochemistry and Molecular Biology   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Exploring Consciousness in Realms of Spirituality and Science 

Mark Roblee, Commonwealth Honors College 

 

ALYSSA L. VELEZ — Neuroscience   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Improving Healthcare for Patients with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Through Undergraduate Education 

Ellen Correa, Civic Engagement & Service Learning 

 

ANDREW J. VENUTI — Neuroscience   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Effects of Environmental Circadian Disruption on Conditioned Fear Extinction 

Ilia N. Karatsoreos, Psychological & Brain Sciences 

 

REBECCA L. VILLARREAL — Sociology   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Exploring the Educational and Social Experiences of Immigrant Students at UMass Amherst 

C.N. Le, Sociology 

 

KIRSTEN G. VINCENT — Individual Concentration: Political Neuroscience   

Advanced Scholarship - Multidisciplinary Honors 

Public Health in the Shadow of Stigma: AIDS, Activism, and Institutional Response in the US and the UK 

Jacqueline Castledine, Bachelor's Degree with Individual Concentration 

 

MITSOU H. VINCENT — Economics, Public Policy   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Reproductive Justice on Campus: An Abortion Doula Support Initiative 

Deborah M. Keisch, Civic Engagement & Service Learning 

 

ANNA VINCZE — Biochemistry and Molecular Biology   

Advanced Scholarship - Departmental Honors 

Understanding the Mechanisms of Tau Endolysosomal Processing and Microglia-Mediated Tau Clearance 

Jennifer N. Rauch, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 

 

NITYA A. VOBUGARI — Informatics   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

 

AMIRA G. VONTOURE — Managerial Economics   

General Studies & Multidisciplinary Honors 

Do Corporations Practice What They Preach? Philanthropy and Strategic Behavior in Elite Firms 

Kevin Young, Economics