WUN research collaborations have produced wide-ranging impacts. Here are just a few examples:

• A WUN grant leveraged funds secured by Zhejiang Province to enable Prof. Limin Qiu of Zhejiang University to visit Prof. John Pfotenhauer at UW-Madison for collaborative research on cryogenic refrigeration and building energy management, and planned for 15 students’ visit to China in the summer 2008 for two months.

• A 2003 and 2006 WUN initiative, the Summer Institute in Economic Geography won National Science Foundation funding and attracted top scientists and young researchers from around the world to Madison for a summer research institute.

• Through WUN, UW-Madison (Prof. Douglas Price, Anthropology) is an associated partner on the University of York-led project LeCHE (Lactase Persistence and the Early Cultural History of Europe). The project was recently awarded a €3.3 million grant from the European Union. The 24-participant network explores the origin and impact of dairying in Europe and emphasizes postdoctoral training opportunities.

• The project "Palaeovegetation changes through the last glacial-interglacial cycle" investigates how climate change has affected vegetation north of 40° N over the last 21,000 years. WUN support helped make interdisciplinary research involving several WUN partners possible. At UW-Madison, it also supported research assistantships for two underrepresented students.

• UW-Madison’s Global Public University series aims to promote discussion about challenges and opportunities facing public universities and their regional and local communities. Series presentations, slides, and discussions are available to the public on a media site.

• The "The Ancient Origin of Cystic Fibrosis" project is producing new information on ancient DNA and environmental factors of importance in health today, particularly regarding Cystic Fibrosis. WUN’s support of this international collaboration has resulted in a WUN Research Congress in Paris, several presentations and publications, international research opportunities for a graduate student, and preparations for two extramural funding bids planned for Fall 2008.

• “Constructing Knowledge Spaces: Transnational/ Transdisciplinary Perspectives” researches developments on globalization and higher education. CKS researchers have made successful bids to ESRC and the Marsden Fund in New Zealand, and have others pending. Outputs include a “Policy Futures in Higher Education” virtual seminar series, and student mobility. In addition, the blog GlobalHigherEd has become a valuable information source for academics, journalists, program providers, and policy makers.

WUN initiatives led by UW-Madison faculty

WUN faculty grants have supported the development of strategic initiatives in international collaboration with WUN partner institutions. Many of these initiatives employ some combination of virtual elements (such as web pages, podcasts, videoconferencing, and media sites) to globally extend the reach and visibility of their projects. In order to capture these grants’ broad impact, we have requested that faculty pIease provide specific information about extramural funding, research and course products, visibility, and partnership development for long-term collaborations.

2007-2008 Recipients
2006-2007 Recipients
2005-2006 Recipients

2007-2008 Seed Grant Recipients

Screening the War in Germany
Marc Silberman (German)
A three-day conference at UW-Madison, November 6-8, 2008 on German cinematic images and coming to terms with the past. The conference focuses on rereadings of postwar German cinema from a post-reunification perspective. Work stemming from the conference will result in that publication of an anthology.
Partnering universities: Leeds (Paul Cooke). Futher participation from UIUC, Southampton. ($8,000)

LUPOR [Lusophone Postcolonial Research Network] International Conference on Portuguese Postcolonial Studies: “The North-South Divide in Postcolonial Studies: Lusophone Perspectives”
Ellen Sapega (Spanish and Portuguese)
September 4-6, 2008 conference in Madison on discourses and practices of Portuguese colonialism and its legacy, contributing new ways of understanding north-south dialogue and interaction. The conference will feature a simulataneous webcast and archive, and will result in the publication of collected essays.
Partnering universities: Utrecht, Manchester ($6,615)

CORNISH [Co-Ordinated Radio 'N' Infrared Survey for High-mass star formation] International Astronomy Workshop
Edward Churchwell (Astronomy)
An international conference in Madison, 27-30 July 2008, will develop future collaborative projects on mapping the galaxy based on new data. The database generated by the CORNISH/VLA survey (part of a series of multi-wavelength surveys of the Galactic Plane) will provide an abundant menu of science that will keep the consortium active for years to come and the addition of the UKIDDS NIR survey to the CORNISH/VLA radio survey and the GLIMPSE MIR survey will provide both additional data collection and a much wider scope of science than any one of the surveys alone.
Partnering universities: Leeds, Southampton, Sydney. ($7,000)

2006-2007 Seed Grant Recipients

The Ancient Origin of Cystic Fibrosis

Philip Farrell (School of Medicine and Public Health/Pediatrics, Population Health Sciences)
This project is an international, interdisciplinary paleoepidemiological investigation of Iron Age Celtic people of central and western Europe. The project will lead to the creation of an international research team and produce new information on ancient DNA and environmental factors of importance in health today, particularly regarding Cystic Fibrosis.
Partnering university: York. ($6,000)

Promoting Social Scientific and Humanities Driven International Initiatives in Women’s Studies
Myra Marx Ferree (Sociology and Women’s Studies)
Will build on existing contacts to establish a more institutional structure for transatlantic collaboration in women’s studies, including multi-site course offerings and faculty and graduate exchange.
Partnering universities: Leeds; Manchester; Sheffield; York; Utrecht; Oslo. ($6,000).

Planning Workshop for the Law and Society in Developing Countries Project

Heinz Klug (Law)
Will build on the interests of a wide group of scholars at UW-Madison and WUN partner institutions and bring the insights of the “law and society” tradition to the study of legal processes and institutions in developing countries and/or those in transition to a market economy. Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Washington-Seattle; Bristol; Manchester. ($6,000)

Transitions and Transformations in the U.S. Imperial State

Alfred McCoy (History)
Will bring together scholars from several WUN universities to engage in interdisciplinary research on global empires, the U.S. imperial state, and the comparative character of these imperial states. Conference papers will be included in a scholarly publication.
Partnering universities: Sydney; Washington-Seattle. ($5,000)

Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism

Tejumola Olaniyan (African Languages and Literature, English)
A conference on “Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism” will advance the establishment of a WUN International Network in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies. Papers from the conference will be included in a scholarly book about contemporary discourses and practices of diaspora and cosmopolitanism.
Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Bristol; Leeds; Manchester; Sheffield; Utrecht; Sydney. ($5,000)

Zhejiang Faculty Visit to UW-Madison

J.M. Pfotenhauer (Mechanical Engineering)
Zhejiang Faculty Visit to UW-Madison will bring Zhejiang faculty to campus, strengthening collaborative research in the field of cryogenics, exploring joint research opportunities in building energy management, and completing preparations for an undergraduate student exchange program between the two universities.
Partnering university: Zhejiang. ($4,000)

Outcomes of Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Randy Stoecker (Rural Sociology)
Outcomes of Participatory Action Research (PAR) will create a sustainable online database of practitioners and craft a cross-national comparative evaluation protocol that will inform PAR theory and practice.
Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Washington-Seattle; Leeds; Manchester; Utrecht. ($5,000)

2005-2006 Seed Grant Recipients

Engineering PhysicsMaterial Performance in Nuclear Systems $2,000

Todd Allen

Center for Climate ResearchArtic Climate Change $19,000

Steve Vavrus

Entomology Ecological Interactions in a Changing Environment $23,000

Rick Lindroth

Life Sciences Communication Attitudes About Science and Technology $25,000

Al Gunther

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Development of a Web based Tool for Modeling Marine bio-ego-chemical Cycles $11,000

Arne Winguth

Geography Constructing Knowledge Spaces: Transnational and Interdisciplinary Perspectives $5,000

Kris Olds

French and Italian/Medieval Studies Multilingualism in Medieval England and Italy $15,000

Keith Busby