The recent announcement of the winners of Stanford University’s Firestone and Golden medals, along with the Kennedy Prize, highlights the diversity and depth of undergraduate research at the institution. These awards were given to students for their exceptional theses and creative arts projects covering a wide range of topics such as food sovereignty, nerve regeneration, robot learning, and cartography.
A total of 42 students from 31 different undergraduate departmental and interdisciplinary honors programs were recognized for their outstanding work. These students received the 2025 Firestone and Golden medals, while four also earned the prestigious Kennedy Honors Thesis prize. The recipients were celebrated at a luncheon on June 14 at the Stanford Faculty Club.
The Firestone Medal is awarded for excellence in undergraduate research across social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. Meanwhile, the Robert M. Golden Medal recognizes achievements in humanities or creative arts projects. Each awardee received an engraved bronze medal along with a monetary reward.
The David M. Kennedy Prize is presented annually to honor exceptional theses in four academic fields: arts & humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering & applied sciences. This prize was established in 2008 to honor Professor David M. Kennedy’s mentorship of undergraduate writers. Winners are chosen based on advanced research potential suitable for peer-reviewed publication; they receive an engraved plaque and a monetary award.
Among this year’s honorees are Caitlin Elizabeth Ramos in Mechanical Engineering for her work on “Concentric Push-Pull Tube Robots for Embedded 3D Printing,” Feiyang Kuang in English exploring “Between Scholarship and Fiction,” Karla Perez in Psychology studying infant visual stream development, Tiana Lakhani examining North Korea’s cyber evolution within International Relations, among others.
These projects underscore Stanford’s broad academic reach from scientific inquiry to artistic exploration.
