All currently enrolled undergraduate students are eligible for the award. One award of $500 will be given for an individual research project completed at the freshman or sophomore level and one award of $500 will be given for an individual research project completed at the junior or senior level. One award of $1000 will be given to a group research project completed at any undergraduate level. Awardees will also receive a certificate suitable for framing.

The submitted research project must:

• Be a research project completed by an individual student or group of students for an undergraduate course (including lab-based work and independent study) at the University at Albany within the previous calendar year. This can include traditional research papers or more creative text-based, visual, or mixed media works so long as the project is in a format that can be submitted for review.
• Represent the original work of the project author(s)
• Any use of generative AI tools needs to be noted (and appropriately cited) in the project and statement
• Utilize the libraries’ electronic or physical collections or other intellectual resources
• Show evidence of creative and critical thinking related to the research process
• Demonstrate, via the reflective essay, an understanding of information literacy concepts related to finding, evaluating, and using information appropriate to the context of the research activity; this is intended to be a personal narrative and, as such, it can be improved but not written by generative AI tools
• Include complete and suitable attribution of the sources used, such as a bibliography
• Be supported by a faculty sponsor who is familiar with the project and can speak knowledgeably about the work submitted
• Only complete submission packets will be considered