Phi Beta Kappa elects 77 new members from class of 2012

Professor Gregory Petsko to speak at initiation ceremony

The Brandeis chapter of Phi Beta Kappa elected 77 new members from the class of 2012. Seven members from the class of 2013 were also elected.

Gregory Petsko, the Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of Biochemistry, will speak at the 2012 initiation ceremony during commencement weekend.

Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious undergraduate honors organization in the United States. Founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776, its high and rigorous standards of excellence have made election to it one of the highest academic honors an undergraduate at a college in the U. S. can receive.

Brandeis University fielded a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa in 1962, putting it ahead of every other university in America in terms of the time it took the university from the moment of its founding to the moment it became eligible to establish a Chapter. No other university in the United States has been granted the privilege to form a Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa more quickly than Brandeis.

The ceremony will take place during commencement weekend, at 1:30 p.m. on May 19, on the main stage of the Spingold Theater. It will be followed by a reception at 3 p.m. for all new Phi Beta Kappa members, and their families and friends.

Nominees from the class of 2012 who will be inducted: 

Alana C. Abramson, Serafina-Natali V. Amarilio, Jesse A. Appell, Raechel L. Banks Michael A. Baum, Chet M. Berman, Daniel E. Bernazzani, Tarun R. Bhatia, Hannah L. Blumberg, Brian N. Blumenthal, Joshua K. Bookman, Philip Braunstein, Hillel Y. Buechler, Adam B. Cohen, Hamilton F. Cook, Samuel H. Datlof, Talya Davidoff, Calliope Desenberg, Kayla H. Dinces, Abigail S. Drapkin, Amy R. Eisenberg, Emily R. Farver, Meryl J. Feinstein, Juliette O. Flam, Russell P. Foxworthy, Kassandra J. Gibbs, Ethan C. Goldberg, Daniel S. Graulich, Samantha L. Grosser, Leah W. Hartman, Elizabeth C. Hinchey, Ariel L. Hirsch, Dane P. Isenberg, Allison R. Joseph Rebecca C. Joy, Michelle S. Kaplow, Austen D. Katz, Sabrina R. Katz, Yeon Soo Kim, Katherine L. Kolios, Emily G. Krainer, Emily E. Kraus, Abby L. Kulawitz, Jacob A. Laband, Christopher Lau, Daniel L. Liebman, Nicole Z. Litvak, Joshua M. McGrath, Sarah J. McWhirter, Shayna A. Medley, Jonathan R. Megerian, Shane B. Morris, Aaron J. Mowitz, Jessica L. Nusbaum, Leanne R. Ortbals, Alexander R. Pagan, Sidak S. Pannu, Michael K. Perloff, Mara W. Rosenberg, Dara S. Rosenkrantz, Geraldine O. Rothschild, Frank A. Scangarello, Alexander I. Schneider, Carolyn M. Schweitzer, Andres Vahid Shahidinejad, Daniel A. Shimansky, Cassandra M. Shull, Ilana S. Sidorsky, Meital Singer, Rachel A. Soule, Marianne F. Specker, Maxim I. Starobinets, Jeremy W. Weinberg, Johanna L. Wickemeyer, Florence H. Yellin, Xi Zhang, Danielle L. Zionts

Members from the class of 2012 who were inducted last year as juniors:

Leah C. Carnow, Ben Henig, Leonid Kapulsky, Matthew P. Kupfer, Samuel R. McCandlish, Virginia C. Partridge, Rebecca S. Starzyk, Jordan W. Talan

Nominees from the class of 2013 who will be inducted as juniors:      

Alex Bargar, Sonya Entova, Keith W. Frankston, Lev Gorfinkel, Daniel R. Noar, Asher R. Preska Steinberg, Maya Tydykov