Cosmo Luizza, in their role as a student researcher at the Digital Studies Center, was honored to be selected for the 2026 Kriste Lindenmeyer Outstanding Digital Studies Research Award. This award is named after Dr. Kriste Lindenmeyer, the former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences–Camden, whose vision and leadership led to the creation of the Digital Studies Center. This award is presented to a student researcher who demonstrates excellence while participating in and leading Digital Studies research projects.
Cosmo received the award for their netnography about a digital YouTube community known as The Phandom. Their research maps the evolution of the community over time, including behaviors, relationships, and the key figureheads, Dan and Phil. Much of the work examines why and how the community operates over a 20-year period.
“I’m jazzed,” said Cosmo. “This is some of the most passionate work I’ve done that speaks to my heart. I am definitely honored that they like my work so much and appreciate my passion for all the weird things I like. I never thought I could do something like this. This is awesome.”
Cosmo served as a Teaching Assistant for the course AI & Society taught by Dr. Nathan C. Walker. In Spring 2026, they continued this experience as a Research Assistant at the AI Ethics lab for the Moral Imagination project.