PLS PhD student inducted into national honor society

January 23, 2026

MSU PLS PhD student Raymundo Lopez has been selected to be an inductee in the seventh cohort of the MSU Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society.

The purpose of BGHS is to recognize outstanding scholarly achievement and promote inclusive excellence in doctoral education and the professorate. The Society seeks to develop a network of preeminent scholars who exemplify academic and personal excellence, foster environments of support, and serve as examples of scholarship, leadership, character, service, and advocacy for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the academy.

All inductees are Ph.D. candidates at MSU who, in the spirit of Bouchet, exemplify the five core values of the society (character, leadership, advocacy for those traditionally underrepresented in the academy, service, and scholarship).

Raymundo Lopez (He/Him/His) believes in a political science that moves. At Michigan State University, he studies American politics and research methods. His work examines how elected officials articulate their social identities in real time, primarily through survey experiments and video-as-data approaches. Lopez is a 2025-2026 Fellow in the American Political Science Association’s Public Scholarship Program, where he produces public-facing analyses that translate political science research into accessible insights for broader audiences. 

He is also the creator of Atom Laboratories, a YouTube channel that uses data, peer-reviewed scholarship and digital storytelling to demystify complicated concepts in political science. In addition to his research and public scholarship, Lopez has collaborated with nonprofits like the Women’s Center of Greater Lansing to support civic education initiatives and community needs. He currently leads the Social Science Initiative at FLI SCI, where he designs curriculum and implements programming that introduces first-generation and limited-access students to social science inquiry.