While all Laidlaw Scholars will be presenting their research at the Columbia Undergraduate Research Symposium in the fall, what are the more immediate expectations that you have for your research? Are you writing a paper? Will your research be part of a larger scientific study? Do you hope to produce an annotated bibliography that you reflect on down the line? Is your research now the first phase of a project you’ll continue to work on throughout the year, and/or next summer? Now that we are nearing the one month mark of the program, please write about your expectations for your research.

My research is designed to have both academic and practical applications. The potential for publication and for public-facing tools, such as an accessible website featuring states' legislative profiles and a diagnostic analysis of regulatory approaches, ensures the work will extend beyond the program and contribute to ongoing policy conversations. The research builds a factual foundation (50-state scan, case studies) to generate patterns and findings that assess how the policy interacts with governmental, private, and/or community motives, ranging from water conservation to ratepayer protection.

Why does your research matter? Explain the significance of the question you are investigating, and why you are interested in it.

In defense of extending the lifespan of a toxic coal plant in a predominantly Black residential neighborhood, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) CEO Javier Fernandez said, “We face a real-time supply challenge. The demand is outpacing generation … converting the North Omaha Station now would compromise our ability to serve new and existing customers.”

Across the nation, corporate demands are being prioritized over community needs. Energy rate increases, local pollution, water contamination, and the unwelcome infrastructure development that all accompany the data center boom are stripping populations of their right to a healthy and equitable environment and, even more so, their agency. Seventy-one percent of Americans oppose the construction of AI data centers in their local communities (Gallup News, 2026). From my op-ed published in the Nebraska Examiner: "Fernandez and OPPD point to data centers for surging energy demand, but what goes unstated is that the utility is practically luring these companies in with low industrial power rates and compelling Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) that guarantee stable energy pricing. This strategy effectively subsidizes corporate energy giants at the expense of Nebraska residents, forcing rate hikes and stunting other economic development."

Amid enthusiastic investments in the AI supply chain, Executive Orders expediting AI innovation, and Big Tech's optioning spree, my research takes a necessary step back to examine how policy frameworks can restrain these tactless efforts.