The Lauder Institute Award and Prize Winners

The Lauder Institute Reginald H. Jones Research Prize Winners (2010–the present)

Beginning with the Class of 2010, the Lauder Institute has awarded the Reginald H. Jones Research Prize to the single most outstanding individual research paper. Papers are nominated for the prize by faculty advisors. The winner and runners-up receive a cash award. (Note that Research Prizes 2010-2024 were issued under the Lauder Institute’s “Global Knowledge Lab” (GKL) Masters Research program. Beginning in the 2024-25 academic year, this was renamed to the “Lauder Capstone”.)

2024 Research Prize

Winner: Maithili Appalwar, Turning the Page: Unraveling the Strategies and Challenges Behind the Resilience of Independent Bookstores in India
Advisors: Dr. Eileen Doherty-Sil and Dr. Joseph Westphal

First Runner-Up: Cristian Navarro Delgado, Atoning for the Past in a Fractured Present: Unsettled Debates on National Memory Laws in France and Italy
Advisors: Dr. Maoz (Michael) Brown and Dr. Reto Gieré

Second Runner-Up: Karim Stinner, Exploring the Role of Shonen Anime in Promoting Saudi Arabia’s National Vision Among Its Millennial Population: A Government Strategy?
Advisors: Dr. Mireia Lizandra and Dr. Kanyinsola Obayan

2023 Research Prize

Winner: Angela Huang, Cultural Ambassadors or Invaders? Understanding the Divergent Success of K-Pop and J-Pop in the Post-2000s Chinese Fan Market
Advisors: Dr. Jacques Delisle and Dr. Regina Abrami

First Runner-Up: Hannah Sherman, Riding the Green Wave: The Role of Social Movements, Political Institutions, and The Catholic Church in Abortion Decriminalization in Argentina and Colombia
Advisors: Dr. Lynsey Farrell and Dr. Eileen Doherty-Sil

Second Runner-Up: Shashank Singh, The Missing Middle? Exploring the Reasons Behind the Low Employment Share Within Medium-Sized Enterprises in the Indian Manufacturing Sector Since India’s Liberalization in 1991, Advisors: Dr. Ecaterina Locoman and Dr. Janet Chrzan

2022 Research Prize

Winner: Kristen Meredith, Grandes Écoles, Made Accessible: The Expansion of Socioeconomic and Ethnic Diversity Within Elite French Higher Education
Advisors: Dr. Domenic Vitiello and Dr. Ecaterina Locoman

First Runner-Up: Michael Ravitsky, Does Cryptocurrency Provide an Avenue Through Which the Private Sector can Address the Problem of Unbanked Individuals in Post-Soviet Eurasia?
Advisors: Dr. Ann Farnsworth Alvear and Dr. Stephen Sammut

Second Runner-Up: Megan Murphy, For Unionizing to be Heard: Divergent Approaches to Labor Advocacy in Mexico and Argentina
Advisors: Dr. Denise Dahlhoff and Dr. Ecaterina Locoman

2021 Research Prize

Winner: Caitlin Veator, All Bark, No Byte: The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation As Virtue Signaling
Advisors: Dr. Lynsey Farrell and Dr. Projit Mukharji

First runner-up: Alyssa Toh, The Singaporean Kopitiam: An Enacted Multicultural ‘Third Place’
Advisors: Dr. Janet Chrzan and Dr. Regina Abrami

Second runner-up: Julie Castelbaum, Factors And Implications That Have Led to the Discrepancy Between Men and Women’s Formal Financial Inclusion in Mexico and an Exploration of Potential Solutions
Advisors: Dr. Stephanie Dick and Dr. Sarah Hammer

2020 Research Prize

Winner: James Juchau, Les Oubliés: North African Soldiers Fighting for the French Army in World War II
Advisors: Dr. Ronald Granieri and Dr. Mireia Lizandra

First runner-up: Danielle Cerepnalkovic, Women at the Top: A Comparative Study of Corporate Board Gender Quotas in France and Spain
Advisors: Dr. Jennifer Hasty and Dr. Stephen Sammut

Second runner-up: Tyler Wigington, Narco-Trafficking in Colombia: Drawing on the Past for a Modern Path Forward
Advisors: Dr. Regina Abrami and Dr. Eileen Doherty-Sil

2019 Research Prize

Winner: Vanessa Hering, Meat for Masculinity, Is the Patriarchy Poisoning Itself?
Advisors: Dr. Regina Abrami and Dr. AJoao Neiva de Figueiredo (St. Joseph’s University)

First runner-up: Ines Bulto-Riera, Military and Society: A Comparative Study of The Perception and Weight of The Armed Forces in The United States, Spain and Israel
Advisors: Ambassador Joseph Westphal & Dr. James McGann

Second runner-up: Louis Gilbert, “The NBA In China: More Than Basketball”
Advisors: Dr. Ronald Granieri and Independent International Sports Consultant Mireia Lizandra

2018 Research Prize

Winner: Christopher Manuel Dell’Amore, Mexican Telecommuncation Privatization and Infrastructure Investment: The Red Compartida
Advisors: Mauro Guillen and Ann Farnsworth (SAS)

First runner-up: Julia Rosemary Enyart, On Our Own Terms: The Rise of The Contemporary African Art Industry
Advisor: Dr. Stephen Sammut (Wharton)

Second runner-up: Natasha Maas, The Birth Of South Sudan: The Path To Independence And Why The International Community Allowed Secession
Advisor: Ron Granieri

2017 Research Prize

Winner: Christopher Jones, Monetary Union and Regional Cooperation: A New Explanation for the CFA Franc Zone

First Runner-up: Eric Detweiler, Let’s Play: A Cultural History of Race Games in Central And East Asia

Second Runner-up: Yann Manibog, Private Sector Opportunities in Sub Saharan Clean Energy

2016 Research Prize

Winner: Andres Panza, Management of Soccer Clubs and Its Effects on Youth Academies
Advisors: Mireia Lizandra, Dr. Ronald Granieri

First Runner-up: Liya Eijvertinya, The Making of E-commerce in Russia: Trust, Capabilities, and Innovation Bridges
Advisor: Dr. Regina Abrami, Dr. João (John) Neiva de Figueiredo

Second Runner-up: JB Alan Marek, Legitimacy-seeking Strategies: A Comparison of the Las Vegas and Macau Casino Industries
Advisors: Dr. Witold Henisz, Regina Abrami

2015 Research Prize

Winner: Akshay Mukesh Jashnani, Crimea, Ukraine and Russia: International Law and the Secession/Self-Determination Debate
Advisor: Dr. João (John) Neiva de Figueiredo

First Runner-up: Christian Dungl, The Power of Media and Symbols to Transform Societies – How to Effectively Use Them to Establish a Strong European Identity
Advisor: Dr. João (John) Neiva de Figueiredo

Second Runner-up: Anirudh Rudrapatna Rajendraprasad, Curry, Bollywood and Hare Krishna in Peru: How India’s Soft Power Seeped into The Country
Advisors: Dr. Regina Abrami, Dr. Ann Farnsworth-Alvear

2014 Research Prize

Winner: André Izecson de Carvalho, The Cost of Commercial Orbital Spaceflight: Its Causes and Implications
Advisor: Dr. Noam Lior

Runner-up: Lynette Nicole Downs, ESG: Addressing a Changing World
Advisor: Dr. Mauro Guillén

2013 Research Prize

Winner: Maria-Paula Herrera, A Pragmatic Approach to “Solving” Child Labor in Bolivia Why Bolivian children are better served through fair child workers’ rights than through child labor abolishment
Advisor: Dr. Mauro Guillén

Runner-up: Lisa Diane Lovallo, Global Cities, Global Palates: A Look at How Gastronomy and Global Cities are Interrelated
Advisor: Dr. Mauro Guillén

Runner-up: Stephanie Hagio Chin, From Chūko to Recycle: Secondhand Goods in Japan
Advisor: Dr. Jane Kauer

2011 Research Prize

Winner: André Luiz Soresini, The Business Case for Power Generation in Space for Terrestrial Applications
Advisor: Dr. João (John) Neiva de Figueiredo

Runner-up: Matthew Craig Axelrod, Aid as Leverage? Understanding the U.S.-Egypt Military Relationship
Advisor: Dr. João (John) Neiva de Figueiredo

2010 Research Prize

Winner: Johanna Cornelia Kuhn-Osius, Cut out of Her Own Cloth: Entrepreneurship, Gender and Minority Status in China
Advisor: Dr. Ann Farnsworth-Alvear

Runner-up: Spencer J.W. Willig, Sovereign Wealth Funds and U.S. Law: Strategies for Navigating the Regulatory and Legal Landscape
Advisor: Adrian Tschoegl

MA Thesis Prize Winners (2000–2009)

Prior to the Class of 2010, the MA Thesis Prize was awarded to the most accomplished research thesis. Today, practical field research projects through the Global Knowledge Lab fulfill the research requirement of the MA at the Lauder Institute in lieu of the MA Thesis.

2002 Prize

Ramsey Elia
Will Spanish Survive in the United States Amongst Second-Generation Hispanics?

2001 Prize

Edmund Marcum
Argentina-punto-com: An Analysis of the Development of the Dot-com Sector of Argentina

2000 Prize

Jennifer Leonard
Socialism versus Liberalism: Globalization’s Impact on the Social and Business Systems in France

Zachary Woods Award for Contributions to the Lauder Community

The Zachary Woods Award commemorates its namesake, a student who passed away in a tragic accident in 2014, shortly after beginning his studies at the Lauder Institute. Before coming to Lauder, Zachary lived and worked in China for five years, using his fluency in Mandarin to raise over $1 billion in international investments for public-private real estate development projects in New York.

The Zachary Woods Memorial Award for Contributions to the Lauder Institute Community was inaugurated with the Class of 2015. Andriana Diez received this award for her honesty, sensitivity, consideration of others, and extraordinary commitment to improving the lives of others. This memorial award will be presented at commencement each year to a student who demonstrates a commitment to using their education and skill set in the service of the community.

2023 Award

Alexander Robinson

2022 Award

Clark Brown Jr.

2021 Award

Braeden Mayer

2020 Award

Danielle Cerepnalkovic

2019 Award

Shunsuke Aonuma

2018 Award

Amelia Montgomery Bell & Marc Lanthemann

2017 Award

Pierre Le Normand

2016 Award

Sarah Millar

2015 Award

Andriana Diez