Fall 2006 International Opportunity Grant Recipients
Please click on the name of a recipient for a more complete descripton of the project.| Recipient | School/Department | Purpose of Travel | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Buczynski Assistant Professor |
SOLES: Learning and Teaching |
Attend an International Faculty Development Seminar as a part of Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) | India |
| Alana Cordy-Collins Professor |
Arts & Sciences: Anthropology |
Attend Anthropological Conference on Cycladic Island of Thera | Greece |
| Bahar Davary Assistant Professor |
Arts & Sciences: Theology and Religious Studies |
Attend conference: “Mashrootiat”: The Iranian Constitutional Revolution 1906-1911 | England |
| Frank G. Jacobitz Associate Professor |
Business: |
Collaboration on "Simulations and Analysis of Rotating Stratified Shear Flows" | France |
| Eric Jiang Associate Professor |
Arts & Sciences: Math and Computer Sciences | Present research at International Conference on Computational Intelligence | China |
| Hugh I. Ellis Professor |
Arts & Sciences: Biology |
Presenting two papers at the 24th International Ornithological Congress | Germany |
| Evelyn Kirkley Associate Professor |
Arts & Sciences: Theology and Religious Studies |
Attend the International Society of Behavioral Medicine Conference | Thailand |
| JoEllen Patterson Professor |
SOLES: Marital and Family Therapy |
Invited teacher: Doctor-patient communication | China |
| Karma Lekshe Tsomo Assistant Professor |
Arts & Sciences: Theology and Religious Studies |
Research: "View from the Margins: Buddhist Women and Religious Authority in Laos." | Laos |
Sandy Buczynski, Ph.D.
School of Leadership and Educational Sciences, Lerning and Teaching
sandyb@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Buczynski will attend an International Faculty Development Seminar as a part of Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) "India’s Complexities: The interplay of geography, history & religion." The mission of an IFD seminar is to help one gain an understanding, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world. This seminar will provide her with an opportunity to experience the religious practices and faith of the devout who worship on the banks of the Ganges and to visit Hyderabad, home to one of the largest Muslim populations in India and one of the centers of India’s high-tech revolution. By exploring all these cities through the prism of its multi-faceted history and tradition, the seminar will provide her with an opportunity to get an overview of the country’s current issues and concerns, and ancient communal and religious practices. In addition they will meet with a world-renowned scholar on Indian women writers, women activists, and visit a rural village women’s self-help group.
Alana Cordy-Collins, Ph.D.
College of Arts & Sciences, Anthropology
alanacc@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
Dr. Cordy-Collins visited Cycladic archaeological sites, museums, archives as well as traveled to villages on the islands of Crete and Thera, and interacted with Cycladic people. She also attended an Anthropological Conference on the island of Thera.
Click here for more information on Dr. Cordy-Collin's project.
Bahar Davary, Ph.D.
College of Arts & Sciences, Theology and Religious Studies
davary@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of this trip is to attend “Mashrootiat: The Iranian Constitutional Revolution 1906-1911” a conference at the Examination School, Oxford University. On the centenary of the Constitutional Revolution this conference addressed issues such as: the nature of the revolution? How it changed Iran? The role of imperialism? How lasting were the institutions established by the revolution? Its global influence? How it shaped the country’s future? Her current research interests focus on the significant role that religion played and continues to play in the unfolding events of past century of the Muslim world and more specifically, Iran and in shaping today’s politics. Attending the conference gave her the opportunity to engage with the latest research of the experts from various fields of the study who have been intellectually involved with this event and its global effects, and to engage in conversations that proved to be invigorating. As a result she has been thinking of proposing a course called "Who Rules?: Traditional and Contemporary Government in Islam," which would serve both Political science and Religious Studies in addressing issues of politics of the Muslim world with more insight on in-depth issues of religion.
Frank G. Jacobitz, Ph.D.
School of Business Administration: Mechanical Engineering
jacobitz@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of travel is to collaborate on "Simulations and Analysis of Rotating Stratified Shear Flows" with Professor Kai Schneider and the University of Provence in Aix-Marseille. He frequently draws on his background in geophysical flows to motivate topics in his thermodynamics and fluid mechanics lectures, such as issues relating to pollution of the environment, global warming, or alternative energy use. His research work on turbulence in geophysical flows is difficult to incorporate directly in an undergraduate curriculum due to a high initial learning-curve and material not covered in undergraduate courses. After these collaboration efforts, he hopes to offer an independent study on flow visualization in the future.
Eric Jiang, Ph.D.
College of Arts & Sciences, Math and Computer Science
jiang@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of his travel is to present his recent research work in the fields of computer intelligence and data mining at International Conference on Computational Intelligence (ICIC 06) in Kunming and International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR 06) in Hong Kong. These papers have been published by IEEE Computer Society and Springer’s Lecture Notes in Control and Information Sciences. Other goals of travel include exchanging ideas of computer science research and education with fellow colleagues from countries around the world and seeking international collaborations and undergraduate computer science research projects.back to top
Hugh I. Ellis, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Biology
ellis@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of travel is to present two papers at the 24th International Ornithological Congress. The titles of the papers are "Energy costs and food requirements of Eared Grebes during autumnal staging at Mono Lake" and "The relationship between basal metabolism and body composition: a different view." In addition, Dr. Ellis spent a large amount of time interacting with other avian scientists and learning many things that will be of use to me in all my courses. Finally, he spent time in several evolutionary biology talks, including a major address on molecular evolution, knowing that he would be able to use that information in all his courses.
Evelyn Kirkley, Ph.D.
School of Leadership and Education Sciences
ekirkley@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
She visited historic, cultural, religious, and humanitarian sires in northern Thailand led by Roger Harmon, former director of the Peace Corps in Thailand. She also attended the International Society of Behavioral Medicine Conference in Bangkok. She incorportated learning from this trip to two courses she regularly teaches: Gender and Religion and Christianity and its practice. She was also able to gain a deeper understanding of Asian History, culture, and family life as they relate to Thai Buddhism and how these cultural and gender norms shape the experiences of Asian immigrants to the United States. She is especially interested in the intersections (if any) between religion, the sex trade, and norms of femininity. She also hopes to understand the impact of Christian missions and evangelism in Thailand by visiting churches and speaking to Christians and non-Christians.
JoEllen Patterson, Ph.D.
School of Leadership and Education Sciences
joellen@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of travel is to teach a week-long training on doctor-patient communication. She currently uses the imformation learned from this training to introduce material on Chinese mental health issues in my Psychopathology course. She has also used the small group teaching techniques that she learned in China in her Marital and Family Therapy Practicum class. As per research, the group of instructors have submitted an abstract to present data from our trip at the annual meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.
Karma Lekshe Tsomo, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences: Theology and Religious Studies
ktsomo@sandiego.edu
Description of Project/Purpose of Travel
The purpose of travel incorporated many different aspects. Video images taken while in Laos were used to produce a video program on the contemporary practice of Theravada Buddhism in Laos for use in the classroom. Also, digital images of Buddhist practice in Laos were used to create a PowerPoint slide show to present in the classroom and the USD community. Research data gathered in Laos was woven into classroom lectures, especially information on funerary rituals, women’s roles, and the interface between Buddhism and politics. Information gathered informed class excursions to Wat Boupharam, a Laotian temple in San Diego, where students conducted field research. Research data was used to complete a scholarly article for publication, titled “View from the Margins: Buddhist Women and Religious Authority in Laos.”
Click here for more information on Dr. Tsomo's project.