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A photo of the display cases in the Special Collections Reading Room.
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New Mendel Sato Research Award Now Open to Students

The Washington University Libraries are excited to announce a new research award designed to engage students’ research with collections from the Julian Edison Department of Special Collections. The Mendel Sato Research Award seeks submissions from students who are engaged in original research in courses taught in departments on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

The vision and funding for this program are provided by a generous endowment established by Dr. Mendel Sato, who hopes “to help awardees do well for themselves and enable them to do good for others.” Sato received an undergraduate degree in biology from Washington University in 1976 and a doctoral degree in dental medicine, also from WashU, in 1979. Today, Dr. Sato and his wife, Sharon, live in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he operates a dental practice alongside his two sons. Inspired by his days as a student at WashU, where he learned by collaborating with faculty members, Sato created an endowment to provide ongoing funding that encourages student exploration into the archives of the Washington University Libraries.

The Julian Edison Department of Special Collections is interested in a broad scope of projects and methods that draw from research conducted with the collections. Projects can range from film to book arts and beyond and can be in any medium, from written papers to multimedia projects. We encourage bold applications of research that help us to understand our holdings in innovative new ways.

Award Details

Each winning student will receive a prize of $500.00. Awards are subject to taxes.

Winning projects and essays will be preserved in the University Libraries’ Digital Collections with access open to the public.

The University Libraries will display the names of the winning students and their faculty mentors, and the information will be published on the University Libraries’ website and in promotional printed materials.

Eligible Students

Any Washington University student at any class level in any discipline who has completed a research project in any format for a credit course during the summer 2020, fall 2020, or spring 2021 semesters is eligible to participate in the 2020-2021 competition. Only one project per course may be submitted by each student.

Submission Deadlines

May 7, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. for projects completed in courses during the academic year

Other Dates to Remember

Winner Notification: June 1, 2021

Award recipients will meet with Dr. Sato virtually to celebrate their winning projects.

For more details about the award and application process, visit the Sato Research Award page.

Apply for the Mendel Sato Research Award via the Sato Award Application Portal.