Summer REU Students | USC SPEC Lab

Gunboat Capitalism

Professor Graham

Team Lead: Ryan Barr

THE SPEC LAB

REU

ABOUT

For each of the next three summers, the SPEC Lab will be hosting an 8-week intensive research training program for non-USC undergraduates. The Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program includes training in research methods and work as a research assistant on faculty-led projects related to the political economy of security. The program is funded by the National Science Foundation and USC Dornsife.

REU Undergraduate Research Assistants

Clayton Strauch

Clayton is a junior at Saint Louis University studying computer and data science with minors in international studies and mathematics. In SPEC, he researches on the IPE/Talus team and his main research interests are global development and globalization. Outside of the lab, Clayton enjoys reading, traveling, and studying foreign languages. Clayton joined the lab summer 2020 as part of the REU program.

Bethany Thompson

Bethany Thompson joined the Summer 2020 REU as a rising senior and is a research assistant for Dr. Megan Becker's resource curse replication project. She is majoring in International Studies and minoring in International Economics and Spanish at California State University, Long Beach. Her research interests include migration from Asia to Latin America and the intersection of security and emerging technology. Outside of research, she enjoys nurturing her plant collection and exploring her creativity through visual and performance art.

Zachary Johnson

Zachary Johnson is a Junior at Iowa State University majoring in Political Science, Data Science, and Statistics. His main research interests surround American elections and American voting behavior but he is enjoying getting a change of pace in studying comparative politics and international relations in the lab. Outside of the lab Zachary is a member of ISU’s marching band, is a student ambassador for the Andrew Goodman Foundation, and is a Community Advisor for ISU’s dept. of residence. Zack joined the lab in the summer of 2020 and is a member of the IPE/Data Resource Team.

Ari Kelo is a rising junior majoring in Theatre, Political Science, and Environmental Sustainability at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a Research Assistant for Dr. Becker's resource curse replication project, Ari is exploring interests in international relations, civil conflict, and the intersection of climate and political issues. Ari also enjoys researching political psychology, having done an independent research project on how sleep sensitivity influences political ideology. Outside of research, Ari participates in the comedy and theatre scenes on campus, alongside working as an environmental journalist and advocating for student issues through the Student Government. Ari joined the SPEC Lab as an REU student for Summer 2020.

Bethany Ford is a rising senior majoring in Economics and International Studies at Washington College. Her research interests are in female financial inclusion and accessibility, particularly in South/Southeast Asia. She’s working on the Resource Curse project at SPEC this summer. Outside of school, she’s a volunteer service puppy raiser with Fidos for Freedom, and loves to cook and bake!

Sara Lowe is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin double-majoring in International Relations and Global Studies and Government. She is currently on the Education in Emergencies team at SPEC and studies patterns of education aid in Sub-Saharan Africa. She’s incredibly interested in international development, particularly in the study of good governance, democracy, and women's economic development. Sara works as a team lead at the Innovations for Peace and Development (IPD) lab at UT, where she studies classifications of vulnerability in research. In her spare time, Sara loves singing with her a cappella group, listening to musicals, consuming far more coffee than the human body should be able to handle, and is always on the hunt for the best boba in town.