Eighteen Cornell doctoral students have received 2019-20 Engaged Graduate Student Grants totaling $269,397, which will support community-engaged research relevant to their dissertations.
Coming from 13 fields of study, grantees are collaborating with communities around the world, including artists of color in Chicago, deported migrants in Guatemala, women homeworkers in India and young people in New York City.
Seven New York state counties and eight countries are represented in this year鈥檚 projects.
The funded students and projects are:
- Sonia Ahmad, city and regional planning, : Exploring how to solve the problem of access to water in a medium-sized city in the Global South.
- Elizabeth Alexander, English language and literature, : Supporting black women in Chicago to use a combination of dance and virtual reality to explore their personal stories;
- Anne Armstrong, natural resources, : Exploring how environmental stewardship practices can promote dialogue among diverse voices;
- Kelsie Doty, fiber science and apparel design, : Creating videos to communicate why and how to use natural textile dyes;
- Stephanie Enloe, development sociology, : Engaging farmer researchers in Malawi to address biodiversity conservation, support ecosystem services and improve food security;
- Martin Feehan, natural resources, : Engaging citizen scientists to study the population of urban white-tailed deer at Fort Drum, New York;
- Christine Georgakakos, biological and environmental engineering, : Leveraging farmers鈥 knowledge for healthy farm management;
- Samuel Gutekunst, operations research and information engineering, : Connecting prisoners with mathematical tools for decision-making;
- Caitlin Kane, performing and media arts, : Developing Leigh Fondakowski鈥檚 鈥淐asa Cushman鈥 and using documentary and devising theatrical methodologies to reclaim and reimagine historical narratives;
- Shrey Kapoor, development sociology, : Raising awareness about and enabling the political agency of evicted laborers in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India;
- John Kennedy, Romance studies, : Collecting, analyzing and sharing stories from deported Guatemalan migrants;
- Mary Moroney, linguistics, : Creating linguistically and culturally appropriate English textbooks for the Shan community;
- Aravind Natarajan, microbiology, Effectively representing education success stories to diverse students through podcasts;
- Ibukun Owoputi, nutrition, : Exploring how household gender dynamics influence maternal and child health behaviors in rural Tanzania;
- Emily Parker, policy analysis and management, : Examining the social impact of community health centers in rural New York;
- Nidhi Subramanyam, city and regional planning, : Increasing equitable access to water for women homeworkers in Tirupur, India;
- Fauzul Rizal Sutikno, city and regional planning, : Examining why and how some informal settlements are able to resist eviction and remain in center-city locations;
- Elizabeth Centeno Tablante, nutrition, : Advancing research on the long-term consequences of Zika.
. Applications for the 2020-21 grants will open in the fall.
Ashlee McGandy is content strategist in the Office of Engagement Initiatives.
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