William “Heath” Sharp of Arlington, a senior at the University of Mary Washington, was recognized for his outstanding undergraduate research at the Virginia Psychological Association’s spring conference April 25 in Richmond.
He and 2013 graduate Drew Hickey of Stafford received the Frederick Rowe Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Research Paper, the highest award given for undergraduate research by the association. The honor is determined by a panel of judges who examined nearly 50 presentations by undergraduate researchers from Virginia colleges and universities, including Virginia Tech, James Madison University and Old Dominion University. Their research, entitled “Does Gender Classification of Faces Benefit from Right Hemisphere Presentation?” looks at the role gender plays when recognizing a face.
Sharp is the son of Trueman Sharp and Kimbra Kenney of Arlington and is a 2009 graduate of Yorktown High School.
Sharp is pursuing a double major in psychology and Spanish. He has been treasurer of UMW’s club basketball team and plans to pursue graduate school after he graduates.