2020 STS undergrad essay contest winners announced

Each spring, the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies releases two calls for funding opportunities for undergraduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Along with an undergraduate research opportunity, the Holtz Center seeks papers for its annual writing competition: Science, Technology, and Society. Students are encouraged to submit their papers, written along various themes related to how science and technology affect and are affected by social, political, cultural, or economic life. All undergraduate students at UW-Madison are eligible for these opportunities, including those in engineering, social and behavioral sciences, the humanities, and biological and physical sciences.

Three undergraduate recipients were recently selected for their essays in science and technology studies during the 2020 competition, along with three honorable mention recipients.

Jaret Schroeder, winner
Jaret Schroeder was selected as the winner of the 2020 Undergraduate Essay Contest. Schroeder is a scientist and a musician with a passion for examining how the details of science’s interaction with society. He expresses his excitement for winning this essay contest with the Holtz Center. He also completed the Holtz Center’s ISSuES certificate (Integrated Studies in Science, Engineering, and Society Undergraduate Certificate), which offers undergraduate students an opportunity to interact with the social sciences and humanities in a way that emphasizes the relationship between science, technology, engineering and society.
Logan Krishka, second place
Logan Krishka recently graduated from UW-Madison in May after studying Anthropology, Portuguese, and Latin American, Caribbean, and Iberian Studies Program (LACIS). He is grateful for his time at the University of Wisconsin and for the tools it has provided him to further pursue his academic interests in the future. His current plans are to work in Door County over the summer and apply to graduate programs for Anthropology in the fall. He hopes to study environmental anthropology in Brazil and ask what a rapidly changing global climate means for individuals, but more importantly how these changes affect different political bodies/state institutions differently and how power is interwoven into these relations.
Emily Merkel, third place
Emily Merkel recently completed her freshman year at UW-Madison and is planning on majoring in Global Health. In the future Emily hopes to attend medical school and work in public health.
Kyle Schroeder, honorable mention
Kyle Schroeder is a senior at UW-Madison, studying computer science and mathematics. He is considering continuing his education in graduate school, while studying computer science. Kyle’s interests include: artificial intelligence and cryptography, as well as the interactions between society and digital media.
Yoyo Yin, honorable mention

Yoyo Yin is in her second-year as an undergraduate student at UW-Madison. She is pursuing a bachelor of art degree in international studies. With previous education in China and France, Yin aims to complete her degree in the London School of Economics during the upcoming academic year. Her interests intersect between how international organizations play their roles in solving global issues and how developed and developing countries are coping with pressing social issues, with the resources they each have available.

Anika Chatterjee, honorable mention

Anika Chatterjee has always wanted to improve the lives of others in some way, and found her path in doing so through her passion for technology. A recent graduate of UW-Madison, she majored in Economics and Information Systems, along with the Holtz Center ISSuES Certificate. She hopes to use her deep interests in technology such as Artificial Intelligence, to combat social inequity and responsibly build a better future for our ever-changing world.

As the 2020 undergraduate essay contest winner, Schroeder received a $500 grand prize. Second and third place received $300 and $100 awards, while the honorable mention recipients each received a $50 award.