Yale Bulletin and Calendar

September 28, 2001

Volume 30, Number 4

Students win grants for environmental
research around the world

Nine doctoral students at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (F&ES) received $413,500 in prestigious grants to pursue environmental research around the world.

"The doctoral programs at F&ES continue to attract some of the very best students in the world," notes John Wargo, professor of environmental policy and risk analysis, who directed doctoral programs from 1995 until this fall. "Their recent success in securing external research funds reflects the importance of their research questions and the quality of faculty mentoring."

Each year nearly 170 applicants apply for only 12 positions in the doctoral program, and most already hold advanced degrees. According to Daniel Esty, associate dean for academic affairs, the presentation of these grants to the doctoral students "reflects great confidence in the school's direction toward becoming a global school of the environment with the capacity to address global-scale environmental concerns."

The grant recipients are:

Eunhae Jeong, who received a Korean Government Long-Term Fellowship for Overseas Studies. She will study conflict resolution on the use of natural resources, and analyze legal and administrative systems in the nature policy field, particularly in East Asia. In addition, she will analyze the development of an ecosystem restoration program through regional and international cooperation.

Keely Maxwell, who is conducting research on the social conflicts of protected areas in the Andes of Peru with a National Science Foundation grant. Her project is titled "Analyzing the Dynamic Cultural Landscape of the Machu Picchu Historical Sanctuary."

Pam McElwee, who received a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the Cultural Anthropology Division to study the "Effects of Ethnicity and Migration on Forest Use in Central Vietnam." The project will advance the understanding of how multi-ethnic societies can manage a scarce resource.

Laura Meitzner, who received a three-year Harvey Fellowship from the Mustard Seed Foundation to research the interaction of multiple legal systems and environmental changes in Indonesia relating to land ownership and resource management.

David Neidel, who was awarded a grant by the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program. His research will focus on "Insiders and Outsiders: Natural Resource Management and the Politics of Community in Kerinci, Indonesia." The award will cover one year of field research in Indonesia where he will analyze the planning and implementation of a World Bank-funded International Community Development Program being established for the Kerinci Seblat National Park in Central Sumatra.

Jonathan Padwe, who received a three-year grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Science To Achieve Results (EPA STAR) program for research concerning ethnic minorities and rights to natural resources in Bolivia. He will seek to demonstrate the environmental and social consequences of new regimes of land rights established in response to identity-based social movements. His research will identify who benefits when rights to land and natural resources are awarded on the basis of ethnicity.

Anne Rademacher, who also received an EPA STAR Fellowship for "'Culturing' Urban Ecology: Strategic Linkages of Environment and Cultural Identity in Discourses of Urban River Restoration, the Upper Bagmati Basin, Kathmandu, Nepal." She will examine the way perceptions and descriptions of environmental degradation are strategically paired with assertions about cultural degradation and cultural identity to produce distinctly "eco-cultural" discourses about a particular urban river system.

Roy Schiff, who received an EPA STAR grant for research on "Evaluating the Adequacy of Protecting Aquatic Ecosystems from Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Using a Paired Watershed Approach to Investigate Applied Stream Restoration, Rehabilitation and Protection."

John Tuxill, who received a Fulbright Fellowship to pursue interdisciplinary doctoral research in Yucatan state, Mexico. He will document how the composition of crop varieties traditionally cultivated by Yucatec Maya farmers in swidden fields and home gardens is shaped by broader patterns of regional agrarian change.

T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale will proceed with Tercentennial celebration

Peabody's insects inspire fascination in scholars far and near

Talk by philanthropist surgeon to open United Way appeal

Service of Remembrance

J. Lloyd Suttle is appointed deputy provost

Benefit concert to help families of tragedy's fallen

Convocation to celebrate Yale's long tradition of theological education . . .

Grant supports professors' study of dwindling voter turnout

Panelists share experiences on matters of gender

Famed Bolshoi Theatre ballerina describes a life devoted to dance

Forest management certification program is launched

Students win grants for environmental research around the world

Insects are special of the day on Peabody Museum menu

Remembering the struggle

Trumbull Lecture will examine 1828 treatise on liberal education

Employee Day at the Bowl

Campus Notes