UMass Amherst Libraries Announce Winners of 2026 Undergraduate Sustainability Research Award

The UMass Amherst Libraries are pleased to announce the winners of the 2026 Undergraduate Sustainability Research Award.

The Undergraduate Sustainability Research Award promotes in-depth understanding of sustainability topics, research strategies, and the use of library resources, providing participating students with vital skills they will carry into future academic and vocational endeavors.

The competition was open to all currently enrolled UMass Amherst undergraduates. Five winners were chosen for their outstanding submissions and received scholarships of $1,000-$2,500, thanks to generous donors to the award-winning UMass Amherst Libraries’ Sustainability Fund. The award recipients’ projects will be added to the Sustainable UMass Student Showcase collection in ScholarWorks.

Winners:

• Vivian Schutt ’26: “Stitching a Sustainable Future: Engineering Fashion’s Circular Revolution”
• Naina Singh ’27, Gabriella Raydo ’27, Leah Solari ’27, and Anshuman Tyagi ’28: “Biogas Production Potential of Livestock Manure at the UMass Amherst Farm”
• Olivia Whynott ’26, Jimmy Cantarero ’28, and Samantha Harrison ’28: “Analysing Trends in PFAS Distribution across Race and Income in the United States”
• Matthew L’Ecuyer ’26: “Experimental Validation of Natural Ventilation Driven Heat Loss Model in a University Residential Building”
• Ilana Hebert ’27: “Archaeological Implications of PFAS Toxicity”