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2005 Henry Barnard Student Awards

Richard Magner

Magner has been called “the most exceptional student I have known in my 20-plus years as a full-time faculty member,” by Marsha Davis, chair of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department.

At Eastern, and working with Mathematics Professor Mizan Khan, Magner has performed research in the field of number theory. This research eventually led him to receive Eastern’s first Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, which he used to further study number theory and the subtopic of modular hyperbolas. These experiences culminated in two separate publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at several prestigious conferences.

Magner also worked three years as a tutor in the Mathematics Achievement Center, graded papers for the Math Department and spent a summer at Ohio State University in the Ross Mathematics Program, sharing his knowledge of mathematics. As a junior, he served as a teaching assistant for a faculty member on medical leave for seven weeks. Magner also is founder and president of Eastern’s Math Club, which was named “best new club” for the 2011-12 academic year. This coming fall semester, Magner will enroll in Boston University’s Ph.D program in mathematics with hopes of eventually becoming a professor at a university where he can teach and conduct research.

Jessica Patrizi

Patrizi majored in biology and health and physical education. She has helped Biology Professor Barbara Murdoch conduct independent research dealing with the regeneration of neurons in the peripheral nervous system. This research may ultimately result in cures for patients with traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders. Patrizi is the only student on Eastern’s campus with enough expertise to operate the University’s $250,000 confocal microscope on her own.

“She works at a level expected of the best graduate students,” remarked Murdoch. Patrizi also has been a varsity athlete on Eastern’s volleyball team, a tutor for the Academic Services Center (ASC) and a regular volunteer at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She aspires to become an osteopathic physician, and has been accepted at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine for the fall 2015 semester.