The University Libraries are excited to announce the winners of the 2026 Lance & Calvert Awards for Undergraduate Research. These annual awards recognize undergraduate students who demonstrate sophistication and originality in research and creative projects using Libraries resources.
This year's winner are:
- Samuel Shewmake, Undergraduate Research Award
- Project title: Stakhanov Lives Forever: How Art and Culture Outlasted Politics in the Communist World
- Faculty sponsor: Michelle Tusan, History
- Geovany Uranda, Advanced Undergraduate Research Award
- Project title: No Fue un Accidente: The Fascist Fantasy of Self-Victimization in Alfonso Ponce de León’s Autorretrato (1936)
- Faculty sponsor: Aya Louisa McDonald, Art History
- Paul Cronin, Extended Advanced Undergraduate Research Award
- Project title: Bravery and Bayonets: The Nigerian Regiment and the Battle of Bweho Chini, 1917
- Faculty sponsor: Michelle Tusan, History
- Kristen Gibson, Public Research Award
- Project title: Navigating Sustainable Burial in Southern Nevada
- Faculty sponsor: Sheila Bock, Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies
- Kailyn Brown, Creative Writing & Fine Arts Award
- Project title: Fall Into Place: Fall 2025 BFA Project
- Faculty sponsor: Hayley Meier, Dance
- Lily Burtis, Creative Writing & Fine Arts Award
- Project title: The Application of the Uncanny Valley in Theater
- Faculty sponsor: Sheila Bock, Interdisciplinary, Gender, and Ethnic Studies
The winners were recognized at an awards ceremony held on Wednesday, May 6, 2026 in the Goldfield Room in Lied Library. Each winner receives a $1,500 prize, and has their work added to OAsis, UNLV's institutional repository.
