This year’s LAUR runner-up Shirely Qiu, left, with winner Samuel Liu and university librarian Todd Grappone. (Jeff Liang photo) Now in its eighth year, the Library Award for Undergraduate Research (LAUR) at UC Santa Barbara has crowned its 2026 winners. Samuel Liu, a senior studying communication and sociology, won the top prize and $750 with his exploration of power dynamics among resident assistants on campus.