KU International Affairs awards 14 grants for research, collaboration abroad


Tue, 05/10/2022

author

Christine Metz Howard

Map of KU travel award research destinations.

LAWRENCE — KU International Affairs has awarded more than $46,000 in travel grants to 13 KU faculty members and one graduate student to support research and collaboration abroad.

These competitively awarded funds were dispersed among faculty and students in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the School of Music. Through these funds, the recipients will travel to 12 countries on four continents to conduct research, access archives, collaborate with colleagues and strengthen international partnerships.

Recipients will use the funds between now and June 30, 2023.

Faculty Grants

South, Southeast and East Asia Fund

The South, Southeast and East Asia Fund develops, strengthens and maintains institutional exchanges and academic collaborations between KU and counterparts at selected postsecondary institutions within Asia.

Rafe Brown, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, will travel to the Philippines to launch a long-term study of terrestrial biodiversity with international collaborators and to engage with the local community to manage its tropical forest resources.

Eungsik Kim, assistant professor of economics, will travel to South Korea to perform a welfare analysis of public pension and fiscal policies across East Asian countries and to research behavioral mistakes and irrational choices of households and its implications on macroeconomic outcomes and governmental policies.

M. Hashim Raza, assistant professor in the Child Language Doctoral Program, will travel to Pakistan to collect data with advanced genetic tools and molecular methods to better understand specific language impairment in consanguineous families.

Maya Stiller, associate professor of Korean art and visual culture, will travel to South Korea for field research of monk portraits and primary sources located in the museums of Buddhist temples, which is essential to the completion of her book manuscript.

Paul Stock, associate professor of sociology and environmental studies, will travel to Indonesia to develop, strengthen and maintain institutional exchanges and academic collaborations with international partners and to perform qualitative research and interview new, millennial farmers about technological adoption, land use and urban farming.

James Thorp, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, will travel to Malaysia to research stream ecology and insect diversity to advance knowledge of food web structure in understudied Southeast Asian freshwater stream ecosystems.

KU-UCR Exchange Support Fund

The KU-UCR Exchange Support Fund, administered by KU International Affairs, prioritizes support for faculty exchange development between KU and the University of Costa Rica. The fund can also be used to support KU faculty research in Costa Rica or elsewhere in Latin America. 

Michael Krueger, professor of visual art, will travel to Paraguay for a solo exhibition of his artworks at Fuga Villa Morra. He will also offer a workshop for the community and give a public lecture on his art and research.

Daniel Velasco, assistant professor of flute, will travel to Ecuador to perform a solo recital with piano accompaniment, teach a masterclass and perform as a member of the flute ensemble at the closing concert at the International Flute Festival in the Middle of the World.

Stephanie Zelnick, professor of clarinet, will travel to Costa Rica to teach and perform at the University of Costa Rica, the National Institute of Music in Costa Rica and at the International Clarinet Festival of Costa Rica.

International Travel Fund for Humanities Research

The International Travel Fund for Humanities Research supports KU faculty pursuing international humanities research abroad. The funds are intended for summer research projects and provide funding for airfare and related travel expenses. 

Rafael Acosta, associate professor of Spanish, will travel to Mexico for the design and implementation of a database for quantifying and understanding literary prestige and consumption in contemporary Mexico and its diaspora.

Verónica Garibotto, professor of Spanish, will travel to Argentina to research psychoanalysis and intersectionality that will result in a book publication and the development of a new first-year seminar.

Mechele Leon, professor of theatre and dance, will travel to Spain to visit Jewish heritage sites with the goal of creating public performances and written scholarship on the themes of absence, nostalgia, tourism and the affective power of family history research.

Paul Scott, associate professor of French, will travel to Paris for archival and library research, which will form the basis of a book-length project on fashion and moralists in early modern France.

Graduate Grants

Pre-Dissertation Travel Grant

Pre-Dissertation Travel Grants support six- to eight-week trips for preliminary dissertation field activities taking place in Latin America. 

Rafael Gonzalez, graduate student in geography, will travel to Mexico to develop relationships within the Rarámuri community in preparation for future dissertation research on place attachment for homeland and urban settlements and how it is perceived by the Rarámuri who live in the city, especially from a generational, gender and queer perspective.

Find more information online.

Tue, 05/10/2022

author

Christine Metz Howard

Media Contacts

Christine Metz Howard

International Affairs