The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) at the University of Michigan (U-M) has announced the 2026 recipients of its Tinker Field Research Grants, Boyce Family Caribbean Studies Grant, and the Alfredo and Luz Maria Gutierrez Dissertation Award, highlighting student research spanning multiple U-M schools and destinations across the region.

Tinker Field Research Grants, administered by LACS and funded by the Tinker Foundation and the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, support master’s, doctoral, and professional school students conducting preliminary fieldwork in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. 

This year, the grants started supporting the study of Indigenous and Creole languages in the region, an expansion LACS negotiated with the Tinker Foundation that now applies across the full consortium of Tinker partner institutions.

The 2026 Tinker Field Research Grant recipients represent multiple schools across the University of Michigan and will conduct fieldwork in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. The awardees are:

  • Stefania Becerra Lavado

  • Maria Beusterien

  • Alvaro Cabrera

  • Julieta Goldenberg

  • Julia McCuaig

  • Caroline New

  • Fernando Pliego Perez

  • Juliana Sanroman

  • Elizabeth Shen

  • Mrinaalika Sivakumar

  • Yeishmary Soto Muñiz

  • Dominick Stoops

LACS also named two recipients of the Boyce Family Caribbean Studies Grant, funded through donations from Drs. Paul and Simone Boyce. The grant supports undergraduate, master’s, doctoral, and professional school students pursuing research or internships in the Caribbean, with priority for projects in English-, French-, or Dutch-speaking countries. This year’s recipients are Jerianne Clarke, an LSA undergraduate traveling to Barbados, and Nikita Rohila, a master’s student in public health traveling to Grenada

In a final announcement, LACS recognized Garima Panwar as the recipient of the Alfredo and Luz Maria Gutierrez Dissertation Award, which supports one PhD candidate in Latin American Studies with dedicated time during the upcoming academic year to write their dissertation.

Editorial note: This story was drafted with assistance from U‑M GPT; award details and recipient information were provided by LACS.