Six students have won 2021-2022 University Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards

The students were selected by a seven-member review panel made up of Libraries faculty and teaching faculty from across campus. The winners received a monetary award and personalized award certificate.

This year’s winners are:

Garnet Track (juniors and seniors)

First Place $500, Riley Sutherland, a graduating senior and History and American Studies major, for “Portrait of a Camp Follower: Continental Army Women in the Revolutionary War and American Memory,” for her South Carolina Honors College senior research thesis. Woody Holton, Department of History, is the supporting faculty.

Second Place $400, Clio Lang, a graduating senior and History major, for “A Tale of Two Women: Analyzing How British Biographers of Female French Revolutionaries Rationalized Activism During a Controversial Suffragette Movement,” for her South Carolina Honors College senior research thesis. Carol Harrison, Department of History, is the supporting faculty.

Black Track (freshmen and sophomores)

First Place $150, Amber Pospistle, a rising sophomore and undeclared major, for “Intellectual Disabilities and Social Determinants of Health,” for her English 102 Honors class. Erica Fischer, English, is the supporting faculty.

Second Place $100, Griffin Goodwyn, a rising sophomore and Broadcast Journalism major, for “The State of American Capital Punishment,” for his SAEL 200 class. Jennifer Blevins, English, is the supporting faculty.

Third Place (two-way tie) $75, Eden Wellons, a rising sophomore and Neuroscience major, for “Indefinite Reality: Quantum Mechanics' Role in the Science/Religion Divide,” for her English 102 Honors class. Erica Fischer, English, is the supporting faculty.

Third Place (two-way tie) $75, Madison Wilber, a rising sophomore and Biological Sciences major, for “Hypnosis Redefined: A Comprehensive Review of the Impact of Hypnosis on Individuality and the Experience of Life,” for her English 102 Honors class. Erica Fischer, English, is the supporting faculty.

The University Libraries Undergraduate Research Awards reward excellence in undergraduate use of library resources and services and demonstrate the contribution of the Libraries to student learning. They highlight the value of information literacy by requiring students to describe their research process as part of the application procedure and encourage faculty to create assignments that engage students in the use of library resources. Since the start of the awards 15 years ago, 57 students have been recognized with more than $19,700 in monetary prizes.

To be eligible to win, applications must be received by the annual deadline and include:

• Application form
• 500-700 words describing their research process and use of library collections, resources and services
• Letter of support from a faculty member
• Final version of the research project
• Bibliography of all sources consulted

The winners contribute their projects to Scholar Commons, the institutional repository to preserve, collect and disseminate the research and scholarship of the University of South Carolina.