All UO students have opportunities to conduct original scholarly research as part of their course work here. And with the help of skilled professors and librarians—along with access to millions of resources via UO Libraries now that we’re part of the BIG Ten’s “BIG Collection”—the diversity of topics they can explore is vast. Though not all the research projects can be award worthy, this year, four certainly were.
These four students will present their research findings and accept their Libraries Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE) on October 30 at a celebration in the Knight Library Browsing Room from 3 to 5 p.m. All are welcome!
“There is an amazing array of topics from this year’s winners of the UO Libraries’ Awards for Research Excellence (LAURE). Projects included research on self-tying/knotting wooden slats, rivalries between national research labs, the seriousness of access—or lack thereof—to childcare and its impact on women's employment, and presidential influence on Muslims in the United States. The work is just outstanding,” said Dean Walton, the Lorry I. Lokey Science and Technology Outreach Librarian and 2024 LAURE program coordinator.
Meet the 2024 LAURE Winners
Caitlyn Dougherty, Economics ’24
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty advisor: Jonathan Davis
Librarian: Genifer Snipes
URL: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/items/e3705c89-5601-48bc-b6db-563b7100db9e
Title: “The Impact of Universal Preschool Policy on Women's Labor Market Outcomes and Economic Inequality in the United States”
Dougherty’s study examines early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies and their impact on labor market factors and gender equality in the US. She noticed a gap in research exploring these impacts within the U.S. context, particularly regarding labor force metrics and economic equality across genders.
Dougherty shared in her scholarly growth essay that through this independent research, she has “gained valuable skills in data analysis, economic modeling, and policy evaluation, which have prepared me for a career focused on economic research and policymaking.”
Maria Mironova, Political Science, Class of ’26
College of Arts and Sciences
Faculty advisor: Yalda Asmatey
URL: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/items/ebf22e7c-d5e2-4bc1-9c17-55c3cb1831ec
Title: “The 2017 Trump Travel Ban and Its Long-term Consequences for Muslims in the US”
A key legislative action undertaken during Donald Trump’s 2017–21 presidency was “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” colloquially known as the “travel ban” or “Muslim ban” (Exec. Order No. 13,769, 2017). A piece of immigration legislation, it limited entry to the US for nationals of several Muslim-majority countries. This, in addition to the rhetoric utilized by President Trump on the campaign trail pushed some scholars to suggest that the policy, far from the realm of homeland security, was targeting the Muslim community in the US directly. Mironova’s paper examines this claim, evaluating medical statistics and personal accounts of those affected by the ban with special attention to the implications for the 2024 election cycle. The paper concludes that whatever the policy’s goals, its extensive personal repercussions are severe and must be considered should similar legislation be ever deliberated again.
Rilynn Zarate, BArch, Class of ’25
School of Architecture & Environment
Faculty advisor: Dylan Wood
URL: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/items/e13383d5-209f-4101-9ce7-fa7e9a558112
Title: “How to Tie Wood Knots”
In his scholarly essay, Zarate shared how they came to do this project:
“It was winter of 2023. Midterm-reviews were rapidly approaching. A challenge was posed by my studio professor, Dylan Wood. ‘If you can get a piece of veneer to tie itself into a knot, I will let you skip midterms.’ Slightly sleep deprived and maybe a bit delusional, I took this challenge and ran with it.”
Zarate’s thesis asked: “Could we choreograph a self-tying knot using wood veneer?” So, this study sought to create a self-tying veneer knot by honing 2D geometry to laser cut prior to shaping.
“What followed was an incredibly surprising glimpse into the world of research that brought me though the process of a literature review, experimentation, and the incredible validation that came from winning my first award for research,” Zarate added.
Dominic Zupo, Political Science ’24
Clark Honors College
Faculty advisor: Catalina M. de Onís
Librarian: Kevin McDowell and Kathy Stroud
URL: https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/items/4c9f38e4-4920-4b29-9833-146545aa0eea
Title: “Eternal Hunger: A Qualitative Analysis of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and its Role as a Driver of the New Nuclear Arms Race”
“The emergence of a new Cold War and the arms racing it brings has captured the attention of the globe. To understand the drivers of the new global tension the current discourse has overwhelmingly looked to great power politics for explanations. A dominant narrative has emerged that frames the United States as a superpower in decline currently facing increasingly aggressive challenges from China. This study directly challenges that narrative by investigating the role of nuclear weapons laboratories as the possible key driver of this new era of nuclear arms racing and proliferation,” says Zupo in his paper.
He also shared that his project, “was made possible through daily use of the library’s online resources, the physical space, and resources it provides, and insights and direction from library faculty as well as outside resources and support.” Not to mention, he said by “an unseemly amount of caffeine.”
About the LAURE
The UO Libraries’ Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence (LAURE) recognizes undergraduate students who demonstrate excellent library research skills with a $1,500 scholarship (currently enrolled students receive awards as scholarships and recent graduates receive a cash award).
Established in 2004, LAUREs are given in two categories:
- Single-term papers and projects from a 200-level or above course
- Theses or multi-term papers and projects
Research projects from all disciplines are welcome. Previous award winners represent a wide variety of academic disciplines, including Anthropology, Art History, Environmental Studies, International Studies, Religious Studies, and General Science.
The Awards Committee, composed of UO faculty librarians and other library personnel, reviews applications once a year.
Interested applicants and faculty members wishing to encourage their students to apply for the LAURE can find the details about requirements, judging criteria, and timelines in the research guide about the LAURE award. They can also learn more about previous LAURE winners.
“We thank our donors for helping to honor our student colleagues and the willingness of those students to share their research experiences,” said Walton.
Join us to celebrate the four winning students on October 30, 3–5 p.m., in the Knight Library Browsing Room. They will each give a short presentation about their research. Refreshments provided.
Have questions? Visit Libraries' Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence or contact Dean Walton.
—By Kate Conley, communications specialist, UO Libraries