diff --git a/remote.php b/remote.php
index 92a9372..48bd3b5 100644
--- a/remote.php
+++ b/remote.php
@@ -390,17 +390,13 @@ function handle_award_additional_materials(&$u, &$fair, &$data, &$response)
  $response['query'] = $data;
  
 // echo "Authenticating... ";
- $username = mysql_escape_string($username);
- $q=mysql_query("SELECT uid FROM users WHERE username='$username'");
- if(mysql_num_rows($q) != 1) {
+ $u = user_load_by_email($username);
+ if($u == false) {
  	$response['error'] = 1;
-	$response['message'] = "Authentication Failed";
+	$response['message'] = "Authentication Failed for $username";
 	echo json_encode($response);
 	exit;
  }
- $i = mysql_fetch_assoc($q);
- $u = user_load_by_uid($i['uid']);
- $response['i'] = $i;
  if(!is_array($u) || $u['password'] == '') {
  	$response['error'] = 1;
 	$response['message'] = "Authentication Failed2";