Princeton Engineering senior Braeden Carroll is a recipient of the 2026 Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize, the highest general distinction conferred on an undergraduate. He will be recognized at Alumni Day on campus Saturday, Feb. 21.
The Pyne Honor Prize, established in 1921, is awarded to the seniors who have most clearly manifested excellent scholarship, strength of character and effective leadership. Previous recipients include Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and the late Princeton President Emeritus Robert F. Goheen.
Carroll, from Kinnelon, New Jersey, is majoring in civil and environmental engineering. He is a two-time recipient of the George B. Wood Legacy Prize and the Shapiro Prize for Academic Excellence, as well as an early inductee into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. Carroll is also a decorated scholar-athlete who rows for the men’s varsity lightweight rowing team.
“I feel incredibly honored to win the Pyne Prize because it reflects the meaningful impacts I have had through my real commitments and curiosities,” he said, crediting his mentors, classmates and teammates for their support in those endeavors.
Carroll’s academic pursuits have bridged engineering, the humanities, social sciences and policy studies, including extensive interdisciplinary fieldwork.
“Princeton has given me so many incredible opportunities to challenge myself and expand my horizons,” he said. “The power of a liberal arts education has allowed me to supplement my engineering coursework with classes in history, economics, politics, religion and more. This intellectual diversity has reframed how I approach problem-solving, giving me the agility to cross disciplinary boundaries with unique solutions.”
In athletics, he is a two-time winner of the Empacher-IRCA Scholar Athlete award, and a 2023 Intercollegiate Rowing Association national champion. He extends his interests beyond the boat through his volunteer work with STEM to Stern, which connects Princeton rowers with students at underresourced schools and expands access to rowing through after-school practice and STEM homework tutoring.
Carroll is a member of Rockefeller College and the Princeton chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
“Had [Braeden] been born in the late medieval world, he would have been characterized as a Renaissance man,” said his senior thesis adviser, Branko Glišić, professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “He is a wonderful, caring, erudite person who has many interests and builds memories with everyone he encounters. I truly believe that he represents the essence of the Pyne Prize.”
Carroll’s senior thesis, an analysis of plank walls in historic timber barns that has involved field experiments at the Howell Living History Farm in New Jersey, combines his major in civil engineering and his deep interest in sustainability. His thesis continues research begun during independent study in his junior year, which has implications for understanding the structural behavior of historic timber barns and for developing preservation methods.
“[Braeden] had to learn and employ various methodologies, including data entry and analysis, geometrical modeling, and advanced structural analysis,” said Glišić. “He demonstrated a natural aptitude for the research process in both the technical and administrative aspects, showed initiative in acquiring significant new theoretical and practical knowledge, and developed essential research skills while producing important new knowledge.”
That interdisciplinary mindset has extended well beyond campus. In the fall semester of his junior year, Carroll traveled to Greece to conduct fieldwork for HUM 417: “Historical Structures: Ancient Architecture’s Materials, Construction and Engineering,” studying engineering advancements and how they changed ancient architecture.
“Braeden dove headfirst into the subject of archaeology and did not play it safe by relying only on his established strengths,” said Samuel Holzman, assistant professor of art and archaeology. “He has a knack for bringing humanistic depth to the study of the applied sciences. His career interest in learning from historic buildings as a basis for future sustainable construction is the perfect embodiment of Princeton’s goal of national and humanity-wide service.”
Carroll also had the opportunity to explore his interests in an internship with Blue Lab, an environmental multimedia storytelling collective at Princeton, where he co-produced the first season of the podcast Carried by Water, focused on survivors of the 2013 Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines. He was a co-presenter for the work at the American Geophysical Union’s 2023 conference and a co-author for a journal article that was published in npj Climate Action.
In the summer of 2024, he worked with the Princeton Creative and Resilient Urban Engineering Lab team, helping research and design the next generation of coastal flood barriers. In 2025 he interned at the management consulting firm Bain & Co.
In the future, Carroll plans to combine the analytical and quantitative skills gained at Princeton to contribute to work in clean technology and sustainable energy.
“When I look ahead to life after Princeton, the lessons I have learned here will undoubtedly follow me, and I will be better prepared to connect with those around me, answer difficult questions, and overcome challenges in my path,” he said.
This story was adapted from Princeton University’s full story on the Pyne Prize.
