Because of their creative and effective use of library resources, three Eastern Connecticut State University students were recognized at the Library Research Awards in May. Usually two awards are given annually, but due to the number and quality of submissions this year, a third student received honorable mention.

The awards were established to recognize exemplary student research projects that demonstrate the ability to locate, evaluate and apply information from the physical collections and online databases within Eastern’s J. Eugene Smith Library.

Sophomore Nicole Green ’18 of Tolland was the freshman/sophomore winner. Double majoring in pre-elementary education and English, her research paper was titled “The Cat in the Hat v. Piggybook: Where Do Women Belong?” English Professor Lisa Fraustino served as Green’s faculty sponsor.

Senior Bryan Lehner ’15 of Bethel was the junior/senior winner. Double majoring in biochemistry and biology and sponsored by Biology Professor Ross Koning, his research paper was titled “Catalytic Efficiencies of Enolase from Fast- and Slow-Killing Genotypes of Paenibacillus Larvae.” Lehner mentioned how an additional challenge of this contest was simplifying the highly-specialized material and putting it into layman’s terms.

Senior Laura Perez-Handler ’15 of Willimantic received honorable mention. Majoring in sociology and sponsored by Professor Kimberly Dugan, her paper was titled “Intergenerational Transmission of Monotheistic Religions: a Proposal for a Comparative Study.”

A committee of faculty and library staff read and selected the award winners. Speaking to the number and quality of this year’s submissions, Patricia Banach, director of library services, said, “It took a while for us to sift through all of these papers this year, but they were so much fun to read.”