Gainesville, FL 11/04/2019 – As UF continues to rise in the ranks of the nation’s top public universities, the UF International Center (UFIC) is keenly aware of the importance of our many global engagements in this effort. With that in mind, and in preparation for International Education Week 2019 (Nov. 18-22), UFIC is pleased to recognize the faculty, staff, and students who make the University of Florida “global and greater.”

International Educator of the Year Awards 2019

The International Educator of the Year Awards honors the outstanding contributions of faculty and staff to the internationalization of the University of Florida and the impact of those contributions on students, international partners, and university stakeholders. We are pleased to announce this year’s campus winners:

  • Senior Faculty: Mary Risner, Associate Director of the Center for Latin American Studies. Dr. Risner is recognized for her passion for international education and strong advocacy for promoting global awareness for personal and professional success.
  • Junior Faculty: Ms. Ann Christiano, Frank Karel Chair of Public Interest Communications and Director, Center for Public Interest Communications. Christiano’s work across cultures and worldviews makes it possible for individuals and organizations to apply social, behavioral and cognitive science to advance positive social change.
  • Staff: Andrew Noss, Coordinator of the Master of Sustainable Development Practice (MDP) Program. Over his tenure at UF, Dr. Noss has played a vital role in establishing international linkages, notably with host organizations for field practicums and international research projects.

A full list of the 2019 college winners and nominees for the campus-wide awards is available on UFIC’s website. 

Global Fellows Program Awards

The Global Fellows Program provides an opportunity for early-career UF faculty to kick-start an international research program. A series of workshops and training sessions, along with a seed grant of $5,000, provides fellows an opportunity to lay the groundwork for an international research project.

The 2019-2020 Global Fellows

  • Simone Athayde, Associate Scientist, Tropical Conservation and Development Program (TCD), Center for Latin American Studies. Region of Study: the State of Roraima, Brazilian Amazon

  • John Bowden, Assistant Professor, Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, Department of Physiological Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine. Region of Study: Olifants River, South Africa

  • Manoucheka Celeste, Associate Professor, Center for Gender, Women’s and Sexualities and Women’s Studies Research and the African American Studies Program, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Pan-Africa

  • Andrew Janusz, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Brazil and Latin America

  • Philip Janzen, Assistant Professor, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Republic of the Congo, Dakar, Senegal, and Aix en Provence, Fr

  • Alix Johnson, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Iceland

  • Jonathan Judy, Assistant Professor, Department of Soil and Water Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Science. Region of Study: Queensland, Australia

  • Yao Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law and Society, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: China

  • Julie Meyer, Assistant Professor, Microbial Ecology/Bioinformatics, Department of Soil and Water Science, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Region of Study: Caribbean Countries and Mexico

  • Alpa Nawre, Assistant Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Design, Construction and Planning. Region of Study: India

  • Eugenio Rojas Barros, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Mexico

  • Jessica Siders Kahler, Assistant Professor; Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law and Society, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Guyana

  • Adrienne Strong, Assistant Professor, Center for African Studies, Department of Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Region of Study: Sub-Saharan Africa

  • Daniel Urbine, Clinical Assistant Professor; Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; College of Medicine. Region of Study: Zambia and India

  • Pengfei Zhao, Assistant Professor, School of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, College of Education. Region of Study: China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

International Student Achievement Awards (ISA)

The ISA Awards highlight the outstanding academic accomplishments of international students at the University of Florida, as well as their contributions to UF and the Gainesville community. This year’s awardees are:

  • Alec Courtelis Award:

            1st Place - Ana Paula Carvalho, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

            2nd Places - Vratika Chaudhary, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences &

                               Gregory Jongsma, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences

  • Scarborough-Maud Fraser Award

            Kedon Willis, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

  • Diane Fisher Award

Ala Alobeidyeen, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

            Jessica Pascoe, College of Health and Human Performance

Research Abroad for Doctoral Students (RADs)

The RADs program provides support to doctoral candidates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to conduct an extended period of their dissertation research at a foreign laboratory or field-site. The Research Abroad for Doctoral Students initiative represents a collaborative effort of the University of Florida International Center, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Graduate School and Office of the Provost. The RAD program aims to prepare doctoral students to compete and become leaders in an increasingly global research environment, and build and strengthen relationships between research groups at the University of Florida and foreign institutions.

During the 2019-2020 program year, the following 14 doctoral candidates will receive funding to complete their doctoral research:

Scott Cinel

Doctoral student in Biology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr Akito Kawahara, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Examining how predation risk affects the stress neurophysiology and neural development of an agricultural pest moth, the corn earworm: Panama

 

Liselotte de Wit

Doctoral student in Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Glenn Smith, Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions

Proposed Research and Location: Assessing whether or not procedural memory remains spared in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease across transnational cohorts: Netherlands

 

Jamie Fuller

Doctoral Student in Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Abdoulaye Kane, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Ethnographically investigating the meanings and motives attached to remittance sending among the 'left behind' families of Senegalese migrant women: Senegal

 

Qingming Huang

Doctoral Student in Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Benjamin Smith, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Examining the resiliency of Communism in East Asia: South Korea

 

Treenate Jiranantasak

Doctoral Student in Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Apichai Tuanyok, Infectious Diseases and Immunology, College of Veterinary Medicine

Proposed Research and Location: Estimating the seroprevalence of melioidosis in pigs by using standard indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA) and novel enzyme-link immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies toward B. pseudomallei and identify risk factors associated with seropositivity to B. pseudomallei infection in intensive pig farming in Thailand: Thailand

 

Hui Jean Kok

Doctoral Student in Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Performance

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Elizabeth Barton, Applied Physiology & Kinesiology, College of Health and Human Performance

Proposed Research and Location: Investigating if increased IGF-I in muscle contributes to both muscle and bone remodeling during disuse and reloaded conditions: Canada

 

Kimberly Ledger

Doctoral Student in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Samantha Wisely, Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Integrating approaches from landscape and community ecology to understand how land use and defaunation contribute to tick abundance and diversity, and how that translates to prevalence of significant human and livestock tick-borne diseases: South Africa

 

Kathrine McNamara

Doctoral Student in Environmental and Global Health, College Public Health and Health Professions

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Sarah McKune, Environmental and Global Health, College Public Health and Health Professions

Proposed Research and Location: Examining health outcomes by exploring evolving gender systems in relation to environmental change in Ecuador: Ecuador

 

Oswaldo Medina-Ramirez

Doctoral Student in Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Exploring water governance practices in the context of sensitive tropical landscapes: Costa Rica

 

Licino Nunes de Miranda

Doctoral Student in History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey D. Needell, History, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Examining the abolitionist movement in Ceará, Brazil: Brazil

 

Mirela Silva

Doctoral Student in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Daniela Oliveira, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering

Proposed Research and Location: Aiming to develop an understanding of how domestic abusers use technology, and how ethnicity and race shape abusers and victims’ online actions: Brazil

 

Benjamin D. Smith

Doctoral Student in Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Steven A. Brandt, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Exploring the archaeology of hunter-gatherer stone economies in the Horn of Africa during the earlier part of the Late Pleistocene, ~130,000-50,000 years ago: Ethiopia

 

Jeeye Song

Doctoral Student in Political Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Aida Hozic, Political Science, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Exploring how countries joined the treaty system through East Asian cases where the concept of sovereignty did not exist until the mid-19th century: Republic of Korea

 

Sarah Staub

Doctoral Student in Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Adrienne Strong, Anthropology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Proposed Research and Location: Investigating the growing movement of the promotion of Artemisia for malaria treatment and prevention as a lens to explore the global trends of medical pluralism, the medicalization of herbal medicines, and the re-emergence of multiple healing systems that have begun to erode the hegemony of biomedicine: Benin

 

For additional information on RADs, visit https://internationalcenter.ufl.edu/faculty-engagement/international-research/funding-opportunities/research-abroad-doctoral-students

Global Culture Photo Competition

Outstanding photographs capturing the diversity of our world are recognized via the annual UFIC Global Culture Photo Competition. An exhibit featuring this year’s winning photographs will be held in the UF Grinter Gallery from November 18, 2019, through January 3, 2019.  The exhibit is free and open to the public. The 2019 winners are:

Category 1        Study Abroad & Service Learning Students

1st Place           “I Describe Myself as a Simple Buddhist Monk” by Isabel Sanchez (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

2nd Place          Enlightenment by Samira Ahmed (Chiang Mai, Thailand)

3rd Place          Batu Caves by Diana Diaz-Venturo (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

 

Category 2        International Students, Scholar, and Employees

1st Place           Commemorative Photos by Doosan Shin (Brooklyn, NY, U.S.A.)

2nd Place          Sounds of the World by Irene Mayor-Sanabria (New Orleans, LA, U.S.A.)

3rd Place          Horseshoe Bend by Krishna Bhattarai (Horseshoe Bend, AZ, U.S.A.)

 

Category 3        Faculty, Staff and Alumni

1st Place           A Day at the Mine by Michele R. Tennant (Ilakaka, Madagascar)

2nd Place         Maasai Man by Jeffrey Eng (Maasai Mara, Kenya)

3rd Place         Jejuri by Mihika Kulkarni (Jejuri, India)

 

For more information visit International Education Week, and join us during the celebration of any of our events.