Senior landscape architecture student Erin Percevault has been selected to the Tiger Twelve Class of 2015. Students selected to the Tiger Twelve hold themselves to the “highest standards of academic, personal, and social integrity; practice justice, equality, and compassion in human relations;” and “respect the dignity of all persons and accept individual differences.” To be eligible for Tiger Twelve, a student must demonstrate through scholarship, actions, and contributions, the principles presented in the LSU Commitment to Community.

Erin will receive a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture with honors from the LSU College of Art & Design and the LSU Honors College this May. She has been selected for membership in Tau Sigma Delta and has been named a Distinguished Communicator by the LSU Communications across the Curriculum program for demonstrating exceptional communication skills as well as a commitment to community service, excellence in her field of study, and superior leadership skills. She is a 2014 National Olmsted Scholar, one of the highest recognitions American landscape architecture undergraduates can receive.

Throughout her senior year, Erin served as the president of the LSU student chapter of American Society of Landscape Architects. Serving as a liaison between students, ASLA, and practicing professionals, the student organization provides its members contacts with other students, schools, and professionals locally and nationwide; gives them access to valuable literature, information, and job opportunities; encourages community service; and, in general, prepares students for their professional careers. Erin’s involvement in ASLA has included organizing a swamp restoration in Baton Rouge; attending ASLA National Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C., and participating in several community projects, such as Better Blocks BR.

As an upcoming graduate of the LSU Honors College, Erin presented her Honors Thesis research, “The Successional Grid,” at the ninth annual Ogden Honors Undergraduate Research Colloquium. Her thesis investigates the potential of alternative energy production in Texas in order to improve the economic and environmental security of the historically oil-driven state.

“This research moves from identifying the flow of goods and energy to the United States to articulating current environmental, political, and social conditions required for different energy production on the regional scale to the spatial implications of technologies at the site scale,” Erin explained.

After identifying major issues, the project will proceed to engineer successional systems that can be implemented at varying scales.

“As localized forms of energy become increasingly desirable, landscape architects’ artistic sensibilities, ability to work across multiple scales and disciplines, and experience in restoration and reclamation of work can engage the energy sector and the public in experimental operative strategies for future investment,” added Erin.

“As her Honor’s Thesis advisor, I can attest to Erin’s dedication to our program, enthusiasm for the discipline, and commitment to advanced scholarship,” said Assistant Professor Forbes Lipschitz. “Her thesis work presents a fresh understanding of the role of energy in shaping landscape systems. As she graduates this spring and enters the workforce, I am confident that her unique perspective will be an asset to the profession.”

Erin will be recognized, along with the other 11 students named to the Tiger Twelve Class of 2015, at a reception on April 25 at 3 p.m. in the rotunda of the LSU Business Education Complex.