Lorraine Stamberger

Lorraine Stamberger '15 has received the Glenda Laws Undergraduate Paper Award from the Association of American Geographers. The award goes to the best paper on an urban geographic topic written by an undergraduate student.

Stamberger, from La Moille, Ill., is majoring in geography and environmental studies at Augustana. Her research and paper assessed riverfront accessibility in the Quad Cities for her Senior Inquiry project. She said her initial idea was spurred by her love for the river.

"I collected the bulk of my data using GIS... analyzed and performed spatial functions on many data layers, including bus routes, population blocks and bike trails," she said. "Outside of the lab, I biked about 60 miles along the riverfront trails to collect data, take pictures and make field notes. I also mailed out 800 surveys to Q-C residents asking about their perceptions on the image, use and accessibility of the riverfront in their city."

From her qualitative (riverfront impressions) and quantitative (riverfront access) research, Stamberger found the city of Moline to have the best access. She said the results aligned with her expectations, yet her data can be used to spur conversations among city planners and non-profit organizations.

Stamberger has been accepted into the master's in landscape architecture program at the University of Illinois, specializing in urban design. She currently has an internship with the City of Davenport in the Community Planning and Economic Development Department.

The benefits of Senior Inquiry are shared by Augustana seniors across campus. Guided by faculty mentors, they learn to conduct research independently through prolonged investigation in their field. They graduate with a project that will attract future employers and graduate schools, and help to solve problems.