Awards & Honors | Asian Languages & Literature

Jump to Section:

| Wylie | Tatsumi | Swaner | Distinguished TA | Yen Fu | Li Fang-Kuei | Ting | Schwartz | Washin Kai | Distinguished Faculty Lectures | Convocation Speakers

Turrell V. Wylie Memorial Scholarship for outstanding students in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature

The Turrell V. Wylie Scholarship was established in 1994 to recognize outstanding students in the Department. Professor Wylie was for many years Professor of Tibetan at the University of Washington and was the first chair of the Department of Asian Languages and Literature.

Wylie Scholarship Recipients

2024 Shiwei Zhou (Chinese)
2023 Nobuko Horikawa (Japanese)
2022 Sean Thomas Bradley (Chinese)
2021 Zhu Xi (Chinese)
2020 Ross Henderson (Japanese); Christopher Lowy (Japanese)
2019 Youngjun Kwon (Chinese)
2018 Zhinan Chen (Chinese)
2018 Christopher Diamond (South Asian Studies, Buddhist Studies)
2017 Joseph Marino III (Buddhist Studies)
2016 Cindi Textor (Japanese)
2015 Sun-Mi Kim (Chinese)
2014 Amruta Chandekar (South Asian)
2013 Hsiang-Lin Shih (Chinese)
2012 Sachi Schmidt-Hori (Japanese)
2011 Y Edmund Lien (Chinese)
2010 Jon Holt (Japanese)
2009 Andy Chin (Chinese); Nicholas Williams (Chinese)
2008 Lin Deng (Chinese)
2007 Erin Brightwell (Japanese)
2006 Stefan Baums (Sanskrit, Buddhist Studies)
2005 Haeree Park (Chinese); Ping Wang (Chinese)
2004 Yukiko Shigeto (Japanese)
2003 Fusae Ekida (Japanese)
2002 Mei-huang Lee (Sanskrit, Buddhist Studies)
2001 Andrew Glass (Sanskrit, Buddhist Studies)
2000 Valerie Ritter (Hindi)
1999 Jason Neelis (Sanskrit)
1998 Christine Marran (Japanese)
1997 Rachel DiNitto (Japanese)
1996 Ramiro Casanas (Chinese Linguistics)
1995 Timothy Lenz (Sanskrit, Hindi)
1994 Abby Petty (Sanskrit, Buddhist Studies)

Henry S. Tatsumi Scholarship for excellence in the study of Japanese

Henry Saburō Tatsumi was born in San Francisco in 1896 and received his early education in Japan. During World War I he served in the U.S. Army. In 1932 he received a bachelor's degree in Oriental Studies from the University of Washington and a master's degree in 1935. In the same year he joined the faculty of the University and taught Japanese for more than thirty years until his retirement with the rank of associate professor, emeritus, in 1967. During World War II Professor Tatsumi taught Japanese at the U.S. Navy Language School located at the University of California, Berkeley, and, later, the University of Colorado, Boulder. Many of the founding figures of Japanese studies in the United States, such as Donald Keene, Edward Seidensticker, and William Theodore De Bary, were trained in Japanese by Professor Tatsumi and his colleagues.

The Henry S. Tatsumi Scholarship Fund was established with an initial gift by Professor Nobutaka Ike (1916-2006) and his wife, Tai (1918-2007). Nobutaka Ike, a Seattle native and graduate of the UW class of 1940, and Mrs. Ike were graduate students and UW employees when the U.S. declared war against Japan in 1941. They were dismissed from their positions and first sent to internment camps, then to the Navy Language School in Boulder. After the war Nobutaka Ike embarked on a scholarly career and eventually became a professor of political science at Stanford University.

In 1984 Professor and Mrs. Ike established the Tatsumi Scholarship fund in memory of their mentor, using reparation funds given to them by the state of Washington. Thanks to their generous gift and additional contributions by others who wished to honor Professor Tatsumi's legacy, each year this prize is awarded to one or more students at UW who demonstrate excellence in the study of Japanese and Japanese studies.

In this video, originally produced for the series "California of the Past," Professor Tatsumi's daughter Miyo Tatsumi Harvey tells the story of his life and career.

Tatsumi Scholarship Recipients

2024 Jeremy Browning
2023 Daniel Hance, Grayson Modica, Rory Eric James Weseloh
2022 Caralee Casto, James Gray, Rebecca Victoria LeVeque
2021 Michiko Hunter, Raechel Kundert, Nicholas Malik, Joanne Misenar, Emi Nakashima
2020 Sammi Chan
2019 Rhiannon Bowen, Mitchell Estberg
2018 Peiyu Wu, Kaleo Chan, Valerie Owens
2017 Zeke Stanislaus Hill, Suyoung Kim, Ching Yi (Hayley) Tung
2016 Fairuz Aisyah Binti Ahmed Zamri, Christopher Kessler, Wilhelmina McMichael
2015 Michelle Arima, Eunha Chong, Silver Yui
2014 Zachary Lim
2013 Hana Kim, Jessica Mao
2012 Emily Keiko Ikeda, Megan Colette Korling, Abigail Julia Severson
2011 Rebecca Dexter; Sarah Mortland
2010 Clara Nadja Lawryniuk; Sin Yi (Cindy) Tsang
2009 Chan Yang (Glory) Choe; Jessica Louise Leithem
2008 Kei Higaki; Raeanna Kaylin Pierce Mason
2007 Lindsey Dewitt; Brian Garcia
2006 Kathryn E. Illback
2005 Erika Ahlstrom; Kristi Govella; Katharine Klise; Kevin Southard
2004 Matthew Keyes; Christine Priyatna; Jeremy Yellen
2003 Ming-hsuan (Mandy) Wang; Nina Uchida; Erin Brightwell
2002 Jennifer Barrick; Brian P. Walsh
2001 Scott Richard Blow; Zachary Hunting; Chien-hsin Tsai
2000 Jermain Ma; Elijah Zupanic; Scot Ritchy
1999 Faith Ashizawa; Curtis Strong; Brenda Dieck
1998 Jennifer E. Hall; Christian Ratcliff; Michael O'Keefe
1997 Jonathan Perkins; Ryan Morris; Heeson Pyon
1996 Stanley D. Crow; Joseph Heitzeberg
1995 Stephen Snyder; Stacy Holmes; Rebecca Morley
1994 Scott Dinwiddie; Fran Fuller; Margaret Nakayama
1993 Adam Goff; Dan Charlson
1992 Richard Hoge; Martin Koessel; Rachel Seymour
1991 Yukiko Sato; Christopher J. Smith
1990 Michelle Wing; Laura Hess
1989 Stefanie Rush; Daniel Hsieh
1988 Ted Woolsey; Paul Vosti
1987 Lucy Bottemiller; Jeffrey Lawrence
1986 Cynthia Howe; Richard Simmons

The Scott H. Swaner Memorial Book Award

This award, which recognizes excellent students within the Department, was renamed in 2007 to memorialize Scott Swaner, who taught Korean poetry and aesthetic theory in the Department from 2003 until 2006.

Scott H. Swaner was born in California in 1968 and studied at Cornell University before taking his Ph.D. from Harvard in 2003. He came to the University of Washington as a postdoctorate fellow later that year, and joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 2004.

Scott H. Swaner Memorial Book Award Recipients

2024 Xinyue Yu
2023 Philip J Kim
2022 Kevin Kim, Xiaohan Yao
2021 Jia yu Zhou
2020 Yen-Han Nguyen
2019 Sophie Elizabeth Baker
2018 Hung Huu Bao Nguyen
2017 Natasha Humayun, Isa Thompson
2016 Hannah Hertzog, Vincent Lawson, Ashley Phillips
2015 Christopher Diamond, Megan Johnson, Zachary Lim
2014 Catherine Emily Shea
2013 Yin Yin Tan
2012 Farah Hushin, Lu Gan, Genoveva Castro
2011 Catherine Bridges-Lyman
2010 Maisha Mariko Kuniyuki
2008 Kendra Nichole Buchanan
2007 Jeffrey Alexander Kyllo
2006 Elizabeth Marie Thelen
2003-5 No award given
2002 Ping Wang; Miguella Milluzzo
2001 Fusae Ekida; Dung Dinh Truong
2000 David Brick
1999 Anders Sandell
1998 Kumar Bodana
1997 David Smith
1996 Karen Ballard
1995 Charles Cox
1994 Mary Dyczewski

Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award

The Asian L&L Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award was established in 2003 to recognize the vital role and important contributions of student teaching assistants. The award is open to any TA teaching in AL&L regardless of home department. Awards are given for excellence in teaching and are based on nominations by students and supervisors.

Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award Recipients

2024 Nicole Cho (Korean), Han (Gloria) Lee (Chinese)
2023 Ami Tanahashi (Japanese)
2022 Shiwei Zhou (Chinese), Nobuko Horikawa (Japanese), Hee Eun Helen Lee (Korean)
2021 Yunee Kim (Korean), Jieyu Zhou (Chinese)
2020 Benjamin Burton (Japanese)
2019 Ying-Hsiu Chou (Chinese), Rie Tsujihara (Japanese)
2018 Siyuan Fu (Chinese), Ross Henderson (Japanese), Youngjun Kwon (Korean)
2017 Nathaniel Bond (Japanese), Zhinan Chen (Chinese)
2016 Christopher Lowy (Japanese)
2015 Zhihua Li (Chinese), Meguim Ochi (Japanese), Jiyoung Kim (Korean)
2014 Sunao Fukunaga (Japanese), Man Zhang (Chinese)
2013 Heewon Chae (Korean), Kai Xie (Japanese)
2012 Amruta Chandekar (Hindi), Yingying Sun (Chinese)
2011 Hsiang-Lin Shih (Chinese), Michiko Urita (Japanese), and Woojoo Kim (Korean)
2010 Hyunjung Ahn (Korean)
2009 Takanori Koyama (Japanese); Sun-Mi Kim (Korean); Ying Tang (Chinese)
2008 Jon Patrick Holt (Japanese); Jessica Ann Likens (Korean); Chia-ying Shih (Chinese)
2007 Tae-Youn Ahn (Korean); Koji Tanno (Japanese); Jie Wu (Chinese)
2006 Hee-Seung Kang (Korean); Yukiko Shigeto (Japanese); Li Yang (Chinese)
2005 Chi-fa (Suyong) Pak (Japanese); Ying Ren (Chinese); Sun-hee Yoon (Korean)
2004 Christopher John Dakin (Chinese); Fusae Ekida (Japanese); Prem Pahlajrai (Hindi)
2003 Sachi Schmidt-Hori (Japanese); Moon-jin Choi (Korean); Jung-im Chang (Chinese)

Yen Fu Translation Prize

This annual prize established in 2006 is named in honor of Yen Fu (1853–1921), one of China’s greatest translators and modern thinkers. He was the grandfather of Professor Isabella Yen (1912–1991), who taught Chinese in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature from 1960 to 1980. Professor Yen and her husband Dr. Shu-Koo Kao established this endowment in 1991.

Yen Fu Translation Prize Recipients

2022 Haruki Shimonagane, Qiyi Wu
2021 Sean Bradley, Grainger Lanneau, Qiyi Wu, Ting-chieh Yang, Shiwei Zhou, Zhu Xi
2019 Aaron Zhao, Youngjun Kwon, Shiwei Zhou, Sean Bradley, Jennifer Liu, Xi Zhu
2015 Tan Yin Yin; Chen Zhinan; Youngjun Kwon; Shuheng Zhang; Sean Bradley
2008 Frances Chi-Chuan Li; Mark Gerald Pitner
2007 Ed Lien; Jeffrey Alexander Kyllo
2006 David Stone; Nicholas Williams

Li Fang-Kuei & Hsu Ying Graduate Fellowship Award

In honor of the distinguished linguist Professor Li Fang-Kuei, who taught in the Department of Asian Languages & Literature from 1949 to 1969, and his wife Hsu Ying, this fellowship was awarded annually from 2007 to 2015 to an outstanding graduate student studying Chinese linguistics at the University of Washington. The award was revived in 2020.

Li Fang-Kuei & Hsu Ying Graduate Fellowship Award Recipients

2023 Grainger Lanneau, Asian Languages and Literature
2022 Liyao Chen, Asian Languages and Literature
2021 John Carlyle, Asian Languages and Literature
2020 Jieyu Zhou, Asian Languages and Literature
2015 Sarala Puthuval, Linguistics
2012-13 Hongzhi Wang, Asian Languages & Literature
2011-12 Yin Li, Linguistics
2010-11 Amy McNamara, Linguistics
2009-10 Chak-Lam Yip, Linguistics
2008-09 Marco Caboara, Asian Languages and Literature
2007-08 Haeree Park, Asian Languages and Literature
2006-07 Lin Deng, Asian Languages and Literature

Pang-Hsin and Chen Chi Ting Graduate Fellowship in Chinese Linguistics

Established in 2021 through the generosity of Prof. Pang-Hsin Ting (AL&L PhD, 1972), this fellowship supports graduate students studying Chinese linguistics in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature.

Pang-Hsin and Chen Chi Ting Graduate Fellowship Recipients

2023 Grainger Lanneau, Asian Languages and Literature
2022 Liyao Chen, Asian Languages and Literature
2021 John Carlyle, Asian Languages and Literature

Maurice D. and Lois B. Schwartz Dissertation Writing Fellowship

Recipients

2020 Zhinan Chen (Chinese)
2019 Chris Diamond (South Asian), Zhinan Chen (Chinese)

Washin Kai Graduate Fellowship

Recipients

2022 Nobuko Horikawa
2020 Nobuko Horikawa
2019 Ross Henderson

Distinguished Faculty Lectures

The Distinguished Faculty Lectures were given between 2003-2011 by invitation each autumn. A senior scholar, usually a member of the Department, delivered the lecture. This series introduced topics of broad interest and appeal related to Asian languages and literature to students and faculty throughout the university, alumni, and other friends of the department, and the general public.

Past Lectures

2011 - "A multilingual poet in eighteenth-century India: A Krishna bhakta's experiments with Urdu"
Heidi Pauwels, University of Washington
Nov. 29, 7:30pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

2009 - "Why not ABC? What happened to the alphabet in East Asia?"
William Boltz, University of Washington
Nov. 25, 7:30pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

2007 - "Why ABC?"
Richard Salomon, University of Washington
Nov. 20, 7:30pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

2006 - "Inner Asian Words for Paper and Silk"
Jerry Norman, University of Washington (emeritus)
Nov. 21, 7:30pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

2005 - "'To be' or Not 'to be': Observations by a Chinese Linguist on Matters of Grammar"
Anne Yue-Hashimoto, University of Washington
Nov. 22, 7:30pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

2004 - "Grammatically Speaking: Linguistics, Literary Criticism, and the Interpretation of Indian Texts"
Michael Shapiro, University of Washington
Nov. 23, 8:00pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

2003 - "Rose or Jade? Problems in Translating Medieval Chinese Literature"
David R. Knechtges, University of Washington
Nov. 25, 8:00pm, Walker-Ames Room (Kane 225)

Asian L&L Convocation Remark Speakers

2023 June 9, 2023: Robin Leong - UW graduate, actor, producer, children’s book author, kung fu master
2022 June 10, 2022: Assunta Ng - UW '74, '79, Founder and publisher of Northwest Asian Weekly and the Seattle Chinese Post
2021 June 11, 2021: Andrew Glass - Asian L&L alum
2020 June 12, 2020: Judge Anthony Gipe
2019 June 14. 2019: Naoko Inoue Shatz - Managing Attorney of the Shatz Law Group
2018 June 8, 2018: Eugene Saburi - A former president of Adobe Japan. He also served as Board Member of the UW Alumni Association in Japan, and graduated from the Asian Languages and Literature Department in 1993.
2017 June 9, 2017: Samuel Shepherd - Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Japan International Christian University Foundation, a past President of the National Association of Japan-America Societies, and past executive director of the Japan-United States Educational Commission.
2016 June 10, 2016: Mr. Jody Chafee - MA '88, JD '91
2015 June 12, 2015: David R. Knechtges - Professor Emeritus of Chinese Literature, Asian Languages and Literature
2014 June 13, 2014: Eugene H. Lee - The Blakemore Foundation
2013 June 14, 2013: Gursharan Sidhu
2012 June 8, 2012: Michael C. Shapiro - Professor of Asian Languages & Literature & Interim Dean for the Humanities, College of Arts and Sciences
2011 June 8, 2011: Davinder Bhowmik - Asian L&L Associate Chair
2010 June 11, 2010: Dr. Robert Stacey - Divisional Dean for Arts and Humanities
2009 June 12, 2009 : Dr. Daniel Bensky - Asian L&L alum
2008 June 13, 2008: Professor J. Christopher Hamm - Asian L&L
2007 June 8, 2007: Mr. Ted Woolsey - Asian L&L MA, 1991
2006 June 8, 2006: David Knechtges - Asian L&L
2005 June 8, 2005: Amy Snyder Ohta - Asian L&L
2004 June 11, 2004: Collett Cox - Asian L&L, Professor of Sanskrit
2003 June 9, 2003: Zev Handel - Asian L&L, Chinese
...
1998 June 4, 1998: Andrew Jones - Asian L&L Assistant Professor of Chinese
1997 June 5, 1997: Jerry Norman - Asian L&L Professor of Chinese
1996 June 6, 1996: David Knechtges - Asian L&L
1995 May 31, 1995: Michael Shapiro - Asian L&L