WUN Initiatives @ UW-Madison

All UW-Madison faculty and academic staff are invited to apply for competitive small grants to promote international research collaborations and learning opportunities at UW-Madison. For the 2009-2010 academic year, we will announce two calls for proposals: a call for seed grant proposals will be issued in the fall semester; a call for travel grant proposals will be issued in the spring semester. These grants support a variety of different types of activities, including collaborative research, workshops, online resources, courses, summer institutes, and virtual seminars.

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New! 2009 UW-Madison WUN International Travel Grant Recipients

We are pleased to announce the following $1000-1500 grants to enable UW-Madison scholars to meet with hosts at WUN member universities. Each will present his or her academic research at the host institution and explore collaborative research opportunities and joint funding bids with their WUN counterparts.

Keith Busby (French and Italian) -- University of York

Ken Cameron (Botany) -- Zhejiang University

Jane Cooley (Economics) -- Bristol University

John Pfotenhauer (Mechanical Engineering) -- Zhejiang University

Tom Popkewitz (Curriculum & Instruction) -- Zhejiang University

Zhiguang Qian (Statistics) -- Zhejiang University

Mark Seidenberg (Psychology) -- University of York

Mike Vanden Heuvel (Theatre and Drama) -- Sheffield, Bristol, Leeds, York, and other UK universities

WUN "Seed grants"

At UW-Madison, competitively awarded WUN “seed corn” grants have enabled many new international research collaborations to get off the ground. They have led to concomitant extramural funding, numerous research and educational products, opportunities for students, strengthened international partnerships, and visibility for the research groups and for the university. Many employ some combination of virtual elements (such as web pages, podcasts, videoconferencing, and media sites) to extend the projects’ reach and visibility. UW-Madison faculty and staff have been key participants in collaborative WUN projects on topics from health and environmental science to higher education policy.

WUN grants at UW-Madison are made possible by support from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Division of International Studies, the College of Letters & Science, the Graduate School, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration, and the Worldwide Universities Network (WUN).

View recent WUN seed grant winners by year: 2007-2008; 2006-2007; 2005-2006.

2007-2008 Seed Grant Recipients

Screening the War in Germany ($8,000)
Marc Silberman (German)
This November 6-8, 2008 workshop brought together leading international scholars to examine postwar German cinematic representations of war and its aftermath from a post-reunification perspective. Work stemming from the conference will result in that publication of an anthology. The project received additional support from the UW-Madison Department of German, the UW-Madison Center for German and European Studies, the Max Kade Foundation, and a University of Leeds WUN Development Grant. Partnering university: Leeds.

 

LUPOR [Lusophone Postcolonial Research Network] International Conference on Portuguese Postcolonial Studies: “The North-South Divide in Postcolonial Studies: Lusophone Perspectives” ($6,615)
Ellen Sapega (Spanish and Portuguese)
At this September 4-6, 2008 conference on discourses and practices of Portuguese colonialism and its legacy, researchers contributed new ways of understanding north-south dialogue and interaction.  Outcomes will include an archived webcast and publication of collected essays. The conference received additional support from the Anonymous Fund of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; the Consulate General of Brazil, Chicago; the UW-Madison Department of Spanish and Portuguese; the Luso-Brazilian Review; and UW-Madison Global Studies.
Partnering universities: Utrecht, Manchester.

 

CORNISH [Co-Ordinated Radio 'N' Infrared Survey for High-mass star formation] International Astronomy Workshop ($7,000)
Edward Churchwell (Astronomy)
At this 27-30 July 2008 conference, researchers developed plans for future international collaborations to map 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); the addition of the UKIDDS NIR survey to the CORNISH/VLA radio survey; and the GLIMPSE MIR survey. The conference was co-sponsored by the UW-Madison Department of Astronomy.
Partnering universities: Leeds, Southampton, Sydney.

2006-2007 Seed Grant Recipients

The Ancient Origin of Cystic Fibrosis ($6,000)
Philip Farrell (School of Medicine and Public Health/Pediatrics, Population Health Sciences)
The WUN-supported project The Ancient Origins of Cystic Fibrosis, part of the WUN Biomolecular Archeology Network, is producing new information on ancient DNA and environmental factors of importance in health today. WUN supported a research congress in Paris, several presentations and publications, graduate student international research opportunities. The project received additional support from the UW-Madison Center for Interdisciplinary French Studies and plans two major funding bids for the coming year.
Partnering university: York.

 

Promoting Social Scientific and Humanities Driven International Initiatives in Women’s Studies ($6,000)
Myra Marx Ferree (Sociology and Women’s Studies)
This initiative built on existing contacts in the WUN Gender Studies Network to establish a more institutional structure for transatlantic collaboration in women’s studies, including multi-site course offerings and faculty and graduate exchanges that have produced strong international ties. The project leveraged concomitant support by the Atlantis Program of the U.S. Department of Education and the European Commission. Several WUN partners have demonstrated their investment in the Gender Studies Network, both financially as well as through active support and mentoring of graduate students at WUN partner institutions.
Partnering universities: Leeds; Manchester; Sheffield; York; Utrecht; Oslo.

 

Planning Workshop for the Law and Society in Developing Countries Project ($6,000)
Heinz Klug (Law)
The planning workshop for the Law and Society in Developing Countries Project built on the interests of a wide group of scholars at UW-Madison and WUN partner institutions, bringing 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. The WUN-supported workshop explored existing scholarship and institutions in developing and transition countries, and identified key elements in this emerging field. The workshop laid the foundation for a larger project on the Role of Law in Developing and Transition Countries (campus-wide project with partners and institutional linkages in many developing and transition countries); identified priorities for future action under this project; and won intramural funding for an International Institute Global Legal Studies Center research circle.
Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Washington-Seattle; Bristol; Manchester.

Transitions and Transformations in the U.S. Imperial State ($5,000)
Alfred McCoy (History)
Part of the WUN International Network in Colonial and Post-colonial Studies, this project brings together scholars from several WUN universities for collaborative interdisciplinary research on transformations of the U.S. imperial state in the context of research on the comparative character of global empires. The partnership benefits from the University of Sydney’s strengths in U.S. history research from the perspective of colonial and imperial studies, and has received additional support from Sydney’s International Program Development Fund. Conferences in Madison (2006), Sydney (2007), and Leeds (2008) will result in an edited volume published by the University of Wisconsin Press.
Partnering universities: Sydney; Washington-Seattle; Leeds; Utrecht.

Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism ($5,000)
Tejumola Olaniyan (African Languages and Literature, English)
The rapid movement of people, ideas, and practices poses challenges for managing populations and creating political communities. Advancing the establishment of a WUN research network in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies to facilitate international research on these topics, Professor Tejumola Olaniyan convened leading researchers in Madison for a successful conference, which will result in a scholarly book on contemporary discourses and practices of diaspora and cosmopolitanism. The project won additional support from WUN Central, the UW-Madison Chancellor’s Office, the UW-Madison Anonymous Fund, and the UW-Madison African Studies Program.
Partnering universities:  Illinois, Urbana Champaign; Bristol; Leeds; Manchester; Sheffield; Utrecht; Sydney.

 

Zhejiang Faculty Visit to UW-Madison ($4,000)
J.M. Pfotenhauer (Mechanical Engineering)
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 Summer 2008. Prof. Pfotenhauer then won support from UW-Madison’s College of Engineering for the UW-Madison China Summer Program in Engineering. On the two-month summer program, UW-Madison engineering students take courses in Thermodynamics and Technical Communication, as well as participate in excursions to learn about Chinese culture and regional industries.
Partnering university: Zhejiang University.

 

Outcomes of Participatory Action Research (PAR)  ($5,000)
Randy Stoecker (Rural Sociology)
Participatory action research addresses questions brought forward by community members and focuses on supporting community-based action (examples include community-based research, “science shops,” or participatory rural appraisal. Professor Stoecker and partners are creating an online database of practitioners and crafting a cross-national comparative evaluation protocol that will inform Participatory Action Research (PAR) theory and practice. WUN support has fostered connections among PAR practitioners in and outside the WUN. A bid to the North American Research Linkages Program is pending.

Partnering universities: Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; Washington-Seattle; Leeds; Manchester; Utrecht.

2005-2006 Seed Grant Recipients

Material Performance in Nuclear Systems ($2,000)
Todd Allen (Engineering Physics)
A WUN-supported visit of UW-Madison faculty to Manchester and Leeds and subsequent videoconferences contributed to the collaborative development of research proposals that could be performed within the context of a ten-country plus EU project to develop advanced nuclear energy systems that make significant improvements in the areas of economics, safety, proliferation resistance, and waste minimization. Proposals won support from the US Department of Energy and US Office of Naval Research.
Partnering universities: Leeds, Manchester.

 

Arctic Climate Change ($19,000)
Steve Vavrus (Center for Climate Research)
Prof. Vavrus, along with Prof. Jack Williams (Geography), participated in the WUN Arctic Climates and Environments Networks (ACE) planning meeting at Bristol in May 2005. In October 2005 they held a workshop in Madison in support of the ACE-WUN paleovegetation mapping initiative.  The specific focus of this workshop was to assess the availability of late-Quaternary plant macrofossil data and databases in North America, and develop a research plan for adding data to the existing North American Plant Macrofossil Database. The databases can be used to provide continuous reconstructions of changing vegetation patterns north of 40°N from the last glacial maximum (ca 21,000 years ago) to the present day. Two underrepresented students, an undergraduate and a graduate student, benefited from research training opportunities on this project.
Partnering universities: Bristol, Southampton, University of Wyoming

 

Ecological Interactions in a Changing Environment ($23,000)
Rick Lindroth (Entomology)
WUN supported the formation of a research collaborative to study the impact of environmental change on plants and their associated insects. The grant supported international research sharing through videoconferences and travel, enhancing partners’ abilities to understand and predict the consequences of environmental change on ecological interactions. The exchange of scientists led to new experiments and collaborative research, from which joint papers will follow. Research results have already been incorporated into existing courses, such as in insect ecology and integrated pest management. Graduate students benefited from research and presentation opportunities. Dozens of academic research presentations have been made by participants in this collaborative project, including the Gordon Research Conference and Plant Stress: Global Challenges and Opportunities Workshop (a WUN initiative).
Partnering universities: Southampton, Bergen

 

Attitudes About Science and Technology ($25,000)
Al Gunther (Life Sciences Communication)
This WUN grant supported the study of the formation and change of public opinion about technologies in different cultures. The approach involved a planning workshop to initiate a WUN research alliance; two parallel field surveys in the U.S. and U.K. gathering data on public attitudes toward technological developments; and a post-survey symposium synthesizing results and planning further research and funding proposals.
Partnering universities: UIUC, Washington, Manchester, York

 

Development of a Web based Tool for Modeling Marine bio-ego-chemical Cycles ($11,000)
Arne Winguth (Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences)
This project promotes understanding of processes within the marine carbon cycle by the use of state-of-the-art biogeochemical models. It deepened international collaborations among WUN partners by developing a web-based graphical user interface educational web tool for Earth Science classes. Participants used the WUN Horizons in Earth Systems virtual seminar series in the classroom.
Partnering universities: Southampton, Bergen

 

Constructing Knowledge Spaces: Transnational and Interdisciplinary Perspectives ($5,000)
Kris Olds (Geography)
CKS researchers study the effects of globalization on higher education and produce collaborative research that informs policy at national and international levels. The many outputs of this research network include a WUN-supported CKS conference at Madison, a “Policy Futures in Higher Education” virtual seminar series, and research mobility opportunities for several graduate students. WUN support also enabled the start-up of the highly successful blog GlobalHigherEd, a valuable information source for academics, journalists, program providers, and policy makers. Affiliated researchers have made successful bids to ESRC and the Marsden Fund in New Zealand, and have others pending.
Partnering universities: Bristol, Toronto, UIUC, Sydney, Manchester, Auckland.

 

Medieval Studies Multilingualism in Medieval England and Italy ($15,000)
Keith Busby (French and Italian)
This project links complementary projects examining regionalism and multilingualism in medieval Europe. Partners research the consequences of multilingualism in the medieval West, such as the function and territorial distribution of languages. One of WUN’s most active and research networks, the WUN Medieval Studies Network has attracted support from the University of Bristol and a Leverhulme grant on which UW-Madison Prof. Keith Busby is a named partner. It has resulted in several virtual seminar series, four conferences, and a publication agreement with Brepols for three volumes, one of which being prepared at UW-Madison. With WUN support, Prof. Busby and Prof. Chris Kleinhenz organized an international conference resulting in The Medieval Francophone World and its Neighbors, to appear in 2008.
Partnering universities: Bristol, York, Bergen, Utrecht, Sydney.

Summer Institutes

Encouraging faculty to start up new summer institutes is one way UW-Madison aims to use the WUN framework to create new opportunities for graduate students and early career researchers. A WUN summer research institute brings advanced graduate students, postdocs, and early-career faculty together with international experts for a week-long residential research and/or professional development program.

 

A WUN grant provided “seed funds” for the Summer Institute in Economic Geography (SIEG), allowing its faculty convenors to make successful funding bids to the journal Economic Geography and the National Science Foundation. The 2003 and 2006 institutes attracted top early-career economic geographers and leading experts in the field from around the world for the week-long institute. Grad students and postdocs worked closely with each other and with international leaders in the discipline, establishing relationships that will develop throughout their careers. In 2004, the University of Bristol hosted the institute.   Read Prof. Jamie Peck's and Prof. Kris Olds' reflections on SEIG's development and outcomes [pdf]	On a field trip to study Milwaukee's economic development strategies, SIEG participants visited the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum. Photo: Kris Olds

Virtual Seminars

WUN virtual seminars create and sustain global dialogue by enabling faculty, academic staff, and students to discuss cutting-edge research with remote colleagues in real time. Many seminars are archived as media sites on the Internet along with associated materials, ensuring that students and researchers can access the content in spite of constraints of time and geography. Virtual seminars have been used to foster collaborative research opportunities and to create world-class teaching and learning opportunities for students.

 

The Global Public University series

 

The Global Public University series promotes discussion about the challenges and opportunities that globalization presents for public universities and their local and regional communities. Drawing together some of the foremost thinkers in North America on this issue, it explores ways institutions around the world can learn from and work with their communities and one another. The series is co-sponsored by UW–Madison Division of International Studies and the Worldwide Universities Network. Individual events have been co-sponsored by WISCAPE, the Center for International Business Education and Research, and Global Legal Studies.

 

Stephen Toope, President, University of British Columbia and David Ward, President, American Council on Education and Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, discuss the challenges and opportunties that globalization presents for public universities. View a webcast of the forum.

 

• Stephen Toope, President, University of British Columbia and David Ward, President, American Council on Education and Chancellor Emeritus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (October 2007). View webcast.

• William Brustein (Associate Provost for International Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) and Susan Jeffords (Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Washington Bothell), two experts on the internationalization of higher education (pictured above), held a candid discussion at the University of Wisconsin-Madison about how communities and regions benefit from the global efforts of their public universities. Topics in this two hour-long event included knowledge hubs and economic development, strategic university-community partnerships, and institutional cooperation, among others (March 2008). View webcast .

• Richard Longworth (Senior writer, Chicago Tribune) and Randall Dunham (Chairperson, Department of Management & Human Resources and Faculty Director, Center for International Business Education & Research Wisconsin School of Business) discuss the future of the Midwest in our increasingly interconnected world – and the role of global public universities and regional collaborations in furthering our standing (April 2008). View webcast .

 

 

2008-2009 Virtual seminars with UW-Madison participation:

Ideas and Universities. UW-Madison contact: Ed Connery, WISCAPE; Dr. Noel Radomski, WISCAPE Director
The WUN Ideas and Universities virtual seminar series offers a comparative approach to higher education policy-making. View ACE Fellow Prof. Betty Rambur’s talk  “Understanding the Culture of Research Collaboration: An Exploration of Transnational Partnerships,” (9 May 2008) as part of this series. The series is co-sponsored by WUN, WISCAPE, and the University of Bristol Institute for Advanced Studies.

 

Multilingualism in the Middle Ages. UW-Madison contact: Professor Emeritus Chris Kleinhenz, Italian

Horizons in Human Geography. [Graduate-level seminar] UW-Madison contact: Professor Kris Olds, Geography

Doctoral candidate Amy Siciliano presents her research in a WUN Horizons in Human Geography virtual seminar. The series is the basis for a graduate course in Geography.

 

World Cinema. [UW-Madison participates 28 January 2009 only] UW-Madison contact: Professor Marc Silberman, German

Professor David Bordwell greets film researchers at the University of Southampton. Above right: eye-line view of multiple audiences from the presenter's podium.

Contemporary China. [UW-Madison participates March 5, 12, and 19 only.] UW-Madison contact: Dr. Richard Miller, Assoc. Director, Center for East Asian Studies

Horizons in Earth Systems. UW-Madison contact: Professor John Young, AOS; Assoc. Professor Harold Tobin, Geophysics