Faculty in the Social Sciences Division at UC Santa Cruz secured more than $7.6 million in research grants during the 2015-2016 academic year, Dean Sheldon Kamieniecki announced.
“The division is clearly doing very well despite a decrease in available grant funding from public agencies,” Kamieniecki said. “Our faculty are conducting fascinating, cutting-edge research on a wide variety of important topics. I am quite pleased about these results.”
Kamieniecki said grant funding from many federal government agencies has decreased, and competition for grants has become fierce, especially in the social sciences. “Nevertheless, these funds are the life blood of important research efforts on campus,” he said. Grants support the collection, organization, and analysis of significant quantities of qualitative and quantitative data, provide faculty members with funds for travel, equipment purchases and lab maintenance, materials and supplies.
In addition, grant awards can include crucial financial assistance for graduate students. Kamieniecki said. “Such funding will be essential as we continue to increase the number of Ph.D. students in the division.”
During 2015-2016, the division submitted 142 grant proposals, seeking $41.3 million. The division was successful in landing 69 grants worth $7,643,109 up from 94 awards and $7.4 million and during 2014-2015.
Overall, faculty and researchers have been continuing the trend of pursuing larger, more complex grants across all the departments, Kamieniecki said.
Faculty and their successful grants above $50,000 are:
Christopher Benner, environmental studies/sociology, "Measurement of Inclusive Economies," Rockefeller Foundation, $74,999; and "Youth Empowerment Institute: Community-Driven Mobile Apps for Health," California Wellness Foundation, $100,000.
Jeffrey Bury, environmental studies, "Center for Integrated Spatial Research Training Program," Elkhorn Slough Foundation, $100,000.
Peggy Estrada, Latin American and Latino studies, "English Learner Achievement in Elementary School: Classroom Composition and Opportunity to Learn," Spencer Foundation, $999,999.
Lars Fehren-Schmitz, anthropology, "Collaborative Research: Population Genetics of Machu Picchu," National Science Foundation, $248,720.
Phillip Hammack, psychology, "Identity Stress and Health in Three Cohorts of Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals," NIH/NICHHD, $50,293.
Judith Habitcht-Mauche, anthropology, “Tracing Pueblo IV Social Networks through Glaze-Paint Communities of Practice in the Upper Little Colorado and Western Zuni Regions of the American Southwest," National Science Foundation, $83,970.
Rebecca London, sociology, "Playworks TeamUp: Examining a New Model for Improving the Quality of Recess in Elementary Schools," Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, $151,500.
Karen Holl, environmental studies, "Tending the Land: Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into the Restoration of a California Grassland," National Park Service, $57,000; and "Theory and Application of Medium-Term Successional Dynamics in Secondary Tropical Forest," National Science Foundation, $400,000.
Lisa Hunter, Institute for Scientists and Engineer Educators, "Akamai Internships for Hawaii Island," Hawaii Community Foundation, $115,500; "Akamai Intership Program," Thirty Meter Telescope International Observatory LLC, $190,000; "NSO/Akamai Technical Career Course, TeCC," National Science Foundation, $50,00; and “Akamai Workforce Initiative: A New Era of Building a Multi-Level Diverse Workforce in Astronomy and Remote Sensing," U.S. Air Force/Office of Scientific Research, $449,921.
Regina Langout, psychology, "Moving the Dial on Inequality Challenges: Broadening Student Access and Success and Transforming Institutions through Campus-Community Engagement," Office of Postsecondary Education, $243,980.
Stacy Philpott, environmental studies, "SUPERDAR - Supporting Undergraduates by Promoting Education, Research, Diversity, and Agricultural Resilience," U.S. Department of Agriculture, $275,760; "Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems: Curricular Integration and Enhancement at UC Santa Cruz," Charles E. Heller Foundation, $100,000; and "Biodiversity, Sustainability, and Ecosystem Services in Urban Agricultural Landscapes," U.S. Department of Agriculture, $439,676.
Catherine Ramirez, Latin American and Latino studies, "Non-citizenship," The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, $175,000.
Jonathan Robinson, economics, "Transport Costs and Fertilizer Adoption in Tanzania," London School of Economics, $226,742.
Tsim Schneider, anthropology, "Collaborative Research: Evaluating Indigenous Strategies of Autonomy in Colonial California," National Science Foundation, $86,328.
Carol Shennan, environmental studies, "ICT New Alliance - Senegal," U.S. Agency for International Development, $53,161.
Patricia Stoddart, education, "Ellisa, English Language Literacy: Integration in Subject Areas," U.S. Department of Education, $399,894.
Veronica Terriquez, sociology, "Youth Leadership and Health Study: Understanding How Civic Engagement Shapes Individual and Community Well-Being," California Endowment, $600,000.
Veronica Terriquez, sociology, "Understanding Strategies for Engaging California's Young Voters" James Irvine Foundation, $300,000.
Anna Tsing, Anthropology, "President's Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2015-16," University of California, $62,436.
Christopher Wilmers, environmental studies, "Research on Large Carnivores in Africa," Butler Conservation Fund, Inc., $100,000; "Energy Scavenging Collar for Animal Physiology and Ecology (ESCAPE), “National Science Foundation, $353,790.
Erika Zavaleta, environmental studies, "The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program at UC Santa Cruz," Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, $2 million.
