EU Center Grants Awarded to University of Illinois Faculty and Students

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Champaign, IL   November 18,   2013 — The European Union Center (EUC) at the University of Illinois is pleased to announce awards totaling over $13,000 to University of Illinois faculty and students for research, travel, and course development related to European Union studies. Awards are made possible by generous funding to the EU Center from its US Department of Education Title VI National Resource Center grant and European Union Center Excellence grant from the EU.

The University of Illinois European Union Center (EUC) was established in 1998 with support from the European Commission, as one of the ten original EU Centers in the United States, and is currently the only one to offer a graduate degree in European Union Studies. In 2003, the US Department of Education designated the EUC as a Title VI National Resource Center. In 2011, the European Union recognized the EUC as a European Union Center of Excellence. Since its inception, the European Union Center has become the focal point on campus for teaching, research, and outreach programs on the European Union. The EUC brings together faculty and students from diverse disciplines across campus to promote the study of the EU and transatlantic relations, making it one of the most comprehensive EU centers in the US. The EUC is privileged to work with Center-affiliated faculty, many of whom are internationally-renowned experts in their fields, as well as other institutions, to provide high quality programs to a variety of audiences.

EUC Faculty Research and Course Development Grants support research proposals pursuing contemporary EU topics that meet the highest standards of excellence and contribute significantly to the advancement of EU studies and EUC academic programs at the University of Illinois. Projects draw from a range of topics addressing EU issues of special relevance and timeliness. Awards this year are in the amount of €1,000 and are made possible by the European Union Center of Excellence Grant from the European Commission. Recipients of the Faculty Research and Course Development Grants and their projects are:

• Sara Bartumeus, Professor of Landscape Architecture, for her project on European landscape, urban development and collective housing in Barcelona.
• Anita Chan, Professor of Media and Cinema Studies, for her project “Studying Food Networks at UIUC and KTH [Sweden]: A Sustainable Communication Course Development Proposal."
• Adrienne Dixson, Professor of Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership, for research collaboration and participation in a conference with Centre for Research in Race and Education, University of Birmingham.
• Zsuzsanna Fagyal, Eda Derhemi, and Marina Terkourafi, for development of a new course “Languages of the Mediterranean."
• Paul Kapp, Professor of Architecture, for his project “Post-industrial Historic Architecture Rehabilitation and Renewal in the EU” (Birmingham, UK).

EUC Faculty Conference Travel Grants support EU Center-affiliated UI faculty who will present one or more papers directly addressing the EU at an academic conference. Awards this year are in the amount of $1,000 and are made possible by the US Department of Education Title VI Grant. Recipients of Faculty Conference Travel Grants and their projects are:

• Sara Bartumeus, Professor of Landscape Architecture, for her presentation and participation in the European Biennial of Landscape Architecture Conference in Barcelona, Spain.
• Eda Derhemi, Professor of Italian, to present at the 36th International LAUD Symposium in Landau, Germany.

EUC Graduate Student Research Travel Grants fund travel and other expenses associated with research concerning contemporary EU topics, whether for exploring a potential thesis or dissertation topic or for conducting thesis or dissertation research. Awards this year are in the amount of €1,000 and are made possible by the European Union Center of Excellence Grant from the European Commission. Recipients of the Graduate Student Research Travel Grants and their projects are:

• Jenelle Davis, Art History, to travel to the Czech Republic to research “Prague’s Pink Protest: Memory, Amnesia, and the Monument to Soviet Tank Crews."
• Kijin Kim, Economics, to travel to Vienna to research “The Extended Regional Econometric Input-Output Model with Heterogeneous Household Demand System: A US-EU Comparative Analysis."
• Rayane Oliveira de Aguiar, EU Studies, to travel to Germany to research “Building EU Multifunctional Landscape Policy within the Agro-Environmental and Energy Nexus."
• Neil Vander Most, Political Science, to travel to the Netherlands and Belgium to research “Rethinking Integration: What We Can Learn from Social Psychology."

EUC Undergraduate Research Fellow Grants provide funds to help students produce and present research posters at relevant conferences, such as the UI Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, on EU affairs and contemporary EU topics. Awards may be used to support research for EU-related capstone projects, including senior theses. Awards this year are in the amount of €200 and are made possible by the European Union Center of Excellence Grant from the European Union.  Recipients of the Undergraduate Research Fellow Grants and their projects are: 

• Paul Dolmon, Political Science, for his project “Improving the Efficiency of Global Food Distribution via the CAP [Common Agricultural Policy],” supervised by Professor Konstantinos Kourtikakis.
• Megan Lindgren, Economics, for her project “Behavioral Components of the European Debt Crisis,” supervised by Professor Anne Villamil.

The EU Center congratulates all award recipients and wishes them the best of luck with their projects.

More information about these and other EU Center Funding opportunities for faculty and students is available at the Center’s website, http://euc.illinois.edu/funding/index.html. These are annual competitions and the EU Center encourages all eligible individuals to apply in future funding cycles.