Awards & Honors

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| 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
 

  • 2023 Nobuko Horikawa​
  • 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 S. Tatsumi

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


  • 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 Hiyaki; 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


 

Scott H. Swaner

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
 

  • 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
 

  • 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

 

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