Lehigh undergraduate student Emma Stevenson ’18 was awarded a Libraries Student Research Prize for 2018. Sponsored by Library and Technology Services (LTS) and the Friends of the Libraries, the Prize recognizes excellence in undergraduate scholarship and the use of library and research resources. Stevenson will complete a dual degree with a joint major in international relations and economics and global studies. Stevenson's paper, part of Professor Henri Barkey’s Politics of Oil course, focuses on the 2003-2008 oil price shock driven by East Asian economic growth. Prize reviewers commented on the paper’s originality, her synthesis of diverse resources, and the clarity of argument. Professor Barkey observes, “Her observation about the declining relationship between oil prices and GDP growth is an important finding. Oil markets are not what they used to be -- energy efficiency and new technologies have altered some of these basic relationships. Her paper is a concise and well thought out articulation of these developments.”
Stevenson has been involved in several clubs and organizations on campus and has held leadership positions. She has work experience teaching at a charter school in Rochester, New York, working with an NGO in Prague, and researching educational equity at Lehigh University through the Mountaintop Program.
Stevenson will receive a $500 check and a certificate of recognition, and her paper will become part of the Lehigh Libraries digital archive, Lehigh Preserve (http://preserve.lehigh.edu/library-research-prize/). Awards will be presented at the 2018 Symposium on Teaching and Learning at Lehigh University.
