Nine teams at Cornell, including three from the College of Arts & Sciences, conducting research from Ithaca to India were recently awarded Undergraduate Engaged Research Programs grants, administered by Engaged Cornell.
The awards, new in 2016, fund research projects that will involve 34 faculty and staff members across 18 academic departments and units in all Cornell undergraduate colleges, as well as an anticipated 136 undergraduate students and 16 community partners.
The grants support established faculty researchers providing undergraduates with community-engaged research opportunities. Students will work in collaborative teams and in programs with capacity to sustain the work beyond the funding period.
Funding was awarded to the following Arts & Sciences project teams:
• Research in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve on land use and health issues, connecting Cornell students with indigenous students in partnership with the Keystone Foundation of Tamil Nadu, India. The project is led by Steven Wolf, associate professor of natural resources, in collaboration with Neema Kudva, associate professor of city and regional planning, Andrew Willford, professor of anthropology, and Rebecca Stoltzfus, professor of nutritional sciences and provost’s fellow for public engagement.
• Crafting Independent Scientists Through an Analytical Approach to Craft Beer Production:Research by food science and chemistry students will aid the Ithaca Beer Company in evidence-based decision making on improving beer taste and brewing efficiency. The project is led by Brian Crane, professor of chemistry and chemical biology, in collaboration with Gavin Sacks, associate professor of food science, and Chris Gerling, manager of the Vinification and Brewing Laboratory at Cornell and extension associate at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva.
• Community Health in Coastal Ecuador: Students and faculty will collaborate in research with local partners in Ecuador to study infectious disease, technology, nutrition and a range of other topics to improve community health. Led by Julia Finkelstein, assistant professor of epidemiology and nutrition and Follett Sesquicentennial Faculty Fellow, with David Erickson, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Saurabh Mehta, assistant professor of global health, epidemiology and nutrition, and Timothy DeVoogd, professor of psychology.
A longer version of this article also appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.
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