Meridith Masoner

2009 Student Awards and Scholarships

Alumni Award and Spring 2009 Undergraduate Research Assistantship

Each spring, Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change bestows the Alumni Award on a graduating student who best exemplifies academic excellence during the past calendar year. This award is directed towards a person who exhibits high academic achievement in anthropology courses and related fields and displays important related interests, such as research, participation in fieldwork and/or involvement in the Honors College and honor societies. 

The school’s undergraduate research assistantships provide students a chance to undertake independent, cutting-edge research while working closely with a faculty advisor. Their research findings are often published.  Students also gain a competitive edge for graduate school and the job market.

"The School of Human Evolution and Social Change has provided me with a great foundation, and my undergraduate experience has been wholly positive."

— Meridith Masoner

Meridith has long been intrigued by anthropology because of its intermingling of history, the humanities and the natural sciences. Her main area of interest is bioarchaeology, specifically in utilizing osteological and biogeochemical analyses to elucidate the paleodemographic information of ancient populations. She has conducted or assisted in a variety of research projects, including collecting three-dimensional osteological morphological data, bone chemistry and biogeochemical analysis, osteological analysis and participation in bioarchaeological fieldwork.  

For the past year, under the guidance of Brenda Baker and Kelly Knudson, Meridith has been conducting an isotopic pilot study of Fourth Cataract Nubian archaeological human and modern faunal remains in order to establish residential mobility and status by analyzing strontium, carbon and oxygen isotopes. Ultimately, she would like to add to this preliminary data to create a more complete understanding of the Nubian biological and social identity.

Meridith credits ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change with "providing me access to faculty specializing in all the anthropological subfields" and states that "their range of perspectives and insight has given me a nuanced understanding of the nature of research and knowledge in my field. The school has also provided me with a multitude of demanding, rewarding work-study activities and field experiences that developed my laboratory, research and excavation skills while readying me for my graduate research."

In the fall, Meridith will begin a graduate program at the University of Western Ontario. She plans to continue her research in the Nile River Valley through biogeochemical and osteological investigation.

Special thanks to:

The School of Human Evolution and Social Change faculty, all of whom have been extremely helpful and exemplary, especially Brenda Baker, Kelly Knudson, Diane Hawkey and Thomas Hudak.