James J. McCarthy Prize for the Most Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis in Environmental Science and Public Policy

 

Established in 2020 the prize is named in honor of the late James J. McCarthy (1944 – 2019), Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography. Jim was one of the founders of the ESPP concentration and served as Head Tutor for more than 15 years. He was a dedicated teacher, mentor, and friend, as well as a leader in international scientific efforts to alert the world to the impacts of climate change. This prize is a reflection of Jim’s incredible generosity of both his time and ideas, his integrity and spirit, and his deep commitment to ESPP students and their scholarship.

This prize is awarded annually to a senior concentrator who has, in the opinion of the ESPP Board of Tutors, written the most outstanding thesis in ESPP. There is no competition for this award; eligible theses will be considered without application.

Prize Recipients

Amy Li | 2020
"California Compliance Offsets: Problematic Protocols and Buyer Behavior"

Wyatt Hurt | 2021
"Global Eyes, Global Waters: Remote Sensing and the Politics of Transboundary Water Governance"

Aubree Muse | 2022
"Cost and Risk Allocation of Climate Change’s Destabilization of the Electric Utility Industry: A Case Study of the California Camp Fire and Pacific Gas and Electric Bankruptcy"

Annelisa Kingsbury Lee | 2023
"Province and Nation in the History of Modern China’s Coal Politics: Shanxi, Guizhou, and the Long Path to Decarbonization’