Maurice J. and Fay B. Karpf Peace Prize Award
The Karpf Peace Prize Award was established through a bequest from the estate of Fay Karpf. It recognizes an ISHR student for their work “involving original contributions to the subject of the promotion of universal peace, goodwill, tolerance, and understanding among the peoples of the earth.” M.A. and undergraduate students currently enrolled in an ISHR degree program are eligible to apply. The selection committee will consider projects undertaken during an internship/volunteer or study abroad placement. Selected students produce a substantive piece of writing during the course of their placement and commit to sharing their work with the ISHR community upon completion of the project. Only returning students are eligible to apply. Click here to view submission requirements and learn how to apply. Award recipients will receive a stipend in the amount of $5,000.
2026 Winners
Shirine Daghmouri
Shirine Daghmouri is entering her fourth year at Columbia in the Dual-BA program where she studies Human Rights with a specialization in Economics, and Political Science. As part of the Dual-BA, Shirine majored in Politics and Government at Sciences Po Paris in Menton, France, specializing in the Middle East region. During her two years at Sciences Po, Shirine worked as a Finance and Partnerships Chair for an international research association, interned at government offices, and worked at a Social Enterprise in Tunisia on projects to support artisan labor.
Through the Karpf Prize, Shirine is working as a research intern at the Care and Protection of Children (CPC) Learning Network at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, where she supports a portfolio of global research projects. Her work spans qualitative and quantitative data analysis across various projects addressing child labor; child and adolescent mental health among refugee populations; and art-based education curricula.
Adanur Nas
Adanur Nas is a rising junior at Columbia University, majoring in Economics–Political Science and Human Rights. Originally from Diyarbakir, Turkiye, she is interested in understanding how human rights, political economy, institutional accountability, and peacebuilding interact and support one another. Having grown up in a region affected by conflict and political repression, her academic and professional work focuses on how governance systems, public institutions, and accountability mechanisms shape access to rights, public trust, and democratic participation.
As a Research Assistant in Columbia University's Department of Political Science, Adanur studies how social media influences youth political behavior, civic engagement, and democratic accountability. Her previous research has examined Kurdish nationalism and minority rights, corporate accountability for human rights abuses, international climate accountability and justice, and the political consequences of institutional weakness in conflict-affected regions. She is also a member of the Chalkboard Politics Podcast team at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies and is actively involved in campus organizations, including the Columbia Undergraduate Law Review, Columbia Academics in Foreign Affairs, and the Columbia Taekwondo Club. Beyond campus, she has contributed to policy and public-interest initiatives in the United States, Austria, and Turkiye.
As a recipient of the Maurice J. and Fay B. Karpf Peace Prize Award, Adanur is spending her summer at the International Anti-Corruption Academy in Austria as an Academic Programmes Intern. Her project examines the relationship between corruption, institutional accountability, socio-economic rights, and peacebuilding by particularly focusing on how anti-corruption education can strengthen public trust and support more inclusive and peaceful societies.