The Graduate College recently announced seven Focal Point projects that will receive funding for 2015-16. Now in its seventh year, Focal Point is a Graduate College initiative designed to stimulate new interdisciplinary research through collaborations among faculty members and graduate students from multiple fields. The awarded projects include graduate student and faculty organizers from 16 different campus units or departments and will involve dozens of others as participants. Many of the projects have a strong international focus, and several tap into campus strengths in areas such as health, diversity and sustainability.
“Taken together, these seven projects embody the spirit of the Focal Point initiative: to stimulate new interdisciplinary research through collaborations among faculty (members) and graduate students from multiple fields,” said Sarah Lubienski, the interim dean of the Graduate College. “These projects reflect the depth of the Graduate College’s commitment to helping graduate students engage directly in the process of developing new research directions in areas of critical national and human need.”
The seven projects awarded funding for 2015-16:
“Climate Action Policies and International Policy Negotiations”; Nuole Chen (graduate student, political science), Hui Li (graduate student, atmospheric science), Clifford Singer (professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering) and Ryan Sriver (professor of atmospheric sciences). Using an innovative, interdisciplinary model that combines live-action climate negotiation simulations, climate modeling and a speaker series, this group will study how best to integrate the politics of policymaking with the natural science of a changing climate.
“Data Science Across Disciplines”; Halie Rando (graduate student, animal sciences), Diana Byrne (graduate student, civil and environmental engineering), Ayla Stein (professor, University Library) and Heidi Imker (professor, University Library). Graduate students without previous training in advanced data analysis and visualization will gain experience in scientific computing and computational problem-solving through a weekly seminar designed to help them see the potential for creative applications of data analysis in their own fields.
“Examining the Educational Experience of Latinos in the U.S.”; Joanna Perez (graduate student, sociology), Sarai Coba-Rodriguez (graduate student, human and community development), Jorge Chapa (professor of Latino/Latina Studies, of sociology, and in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs) and William Trent (professor of education policy, organization and leadership). This project seeks to more fully understand the educational experiences of Latino students in the U.S. by examining the barriers they encounter in their educations, and by building connections between local Latino elementary school students and Latino undergraduate and graduate students.
“Facilitating Project-based Learning in International Health Care”; Adam Rusch (graduate student, education policy, organization and leadership), Kenny Long (graduate student, medicine, bioengineering), Jennifer Amos (professor of bioengineering) and William Cope (professor of education policy, organization and leadership). Building on an ongoing partnership with Njala University in Sierra Leone, this group will study how students in a multidisciplinary, online course taken by students from both Illinois and Njala collaborate virtually to address challenging global health problems.
“Interdisciplinary Training for Engineers and Scientists: Bridging the Gap for Sustainable International Development Projects”; Sital Uprety (graduate student, civil and environmental engineering), Nora Sadik (graduate student, civil and environmental engineering), Helen Nguyen (professor of civil and environmental engineering), Chi-Fang Wu (professor of social work), Juliet Iwelunmor (professor of kinesiology and community health) and Ann-Perry Witmer (professor of engineering). This project will consist of a yearlong, multidisciplinary seminar designed to provide graduate students with skills and connections necessary to design, implement and assess a community-based water and household energy project.
“NICER (Non-Intrusive, Cooperative, Empathetic and Robust) Robotics”; Thiago Marinho (graduate student, mechanical science and engineering), Venanzio Cichella (graduate student, mechanical science and engineering), Naira Hovakimyan (professor of mechanical science and engineering) and Francis Ranxiao Wang (professor of psychology). This project will study human comfort levels around flying robots and use the results of that study to create guidance and control mechanisms that improve the acceptability of aerial robots in social environments.
“Women’s Empowerment and International Development”; Lenore Matthew (graduate student, social work), Elizabeth Sloffer (graduate student, food science), Colleen Murphy (professor of philosophy and of women and gender in global perspectives) and Chi-Fang Wu (professor of social work). This project will organize symposia and research modules that address the conceptual debates, methodological challenges, and policy and practice implications of women’s empowerment in international development programming.