The Office of the Provost announces 17 awards from the Global Engagement Fund. This Fund is designed primarily to support projects that collaborate across Schools and disciplines; involve multiple faculty members; engage regions in which Penn has active academic partnerships and collaborative ventures, such as China and India; or represent academic and thematic priorities, such as sustainability or neuroscience.

Proposals were reviewed by a faculty committee according to criteria of scholarly merit and significance for global research, teaching, and service. The 17 awards encompass 11 of Penn’s 12 Schools and involve engagement with at least 15 countries outside the US.

Proposals for the next round of funding are due March 2, 2012. The Call for Proposals can be found here.

The Fall 2011 Global Engagement Fund Awards are:

Student Activities and Courses

• Michael Knoll (Law), research seminar on contemporary Islamic finance
• Carol Muller (SAS), expansion of study abroad program in Grahamstown, South Africa
• Monroe Price (ASC), seminar on methods of monitoring and evaluation in international development

Research Projects and Collaborations

• Linda Aiken (SON), collaboration with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven on the impact of nursing on patient outcomes in sixteen countries
• Charles Branas (PSOM), expansion of Penn’s engagement in Guatemala
• Alison Buttenheim (SON), research on the use of incentives to increase participation in Chagas disease control programs
• Femida Handy (SP2), research on philanthropy in India
• Michael Levy (PSOM), collaboration with Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia and Peru Ministry of Health on control of Chagas disease in Arequipa, Peru
• Rahul Mangharam (SEAS), collaboration with NIIT University in India on design and development of new machine-to-machine communication protocols
• Daniel Raff (Wharton), research on the history of the Beijing housing market, 1644-1948

Conferences

• Eugenie L. Birch (Design), David Galligan (Vet Med), Mauro Guillen (Wharton), Frederick Scatena (SAS), Marilyn Sommers(SON), Brian Spooner (SAS), Susan Wachter (Wharton), Food Security in a Rapidly Urbanizing World
• Cherie Kagan (SEAS), Controlling Matter at the Nanoscale
• Richard Leventhal (SAS), Evaluating the Past, Present, and Future of UNESCO’s Cultural Policy Program

Distinguished Visiting Scholars

• Daud Ali (SAS), hosting Prof. R.V.S. Sundaram, from the University of Mysore, to teach Indian language and literature
• James Ferguson (Vet Med), hosting Profs. Yao Junhu and Jun Luo, from Northwest A&F University, and Prof. Y. Ramana Reddy, from the College of Veterinary Science in Hyderabad, to work with faculty in the Center for Animal Health and Productivity on methods of sustainable ruminant production
• John Jackson (ASC/SAS), hosting Prof. Tudor Parfitt, from the University of London, a leading interdisciplinary scholar of Africana, African, and Jewish Studies
• Charlie Johnson (SAS), hosting Prof. Yung Woo Park, from Seoul National University, an expert in nano-bio hybrid structures.

source: http://www.upenn.com / University of Pennsylvania / Vol. 58, No. 19 / January 24th, 2012