2013 Community Based Undergraduate Research Grants Recipients

Student Researchers: Elizabeth Bickley
Faculty Advisor: Jenifer Merritt, Women's Center
Community Partner: Adult Learning Center (ALC)
Elizabeth will work closely with the Adult Learning Center (ALC) in order to determine how best to integrate the educational curriculum model of the Philosopher's Club into the existing efforts of ALC. Philosopher's Club is a U.Va. Women's Center program that serves students from alternative school backgrounds, and this partnership will enable another sector of non-traditional students in Charlottesville, to enter into the emotional and social recovery that its philosophy-based curriculum facilitates.

Student Researchers: Christina Leas and Yutong Li
Faculty Advisor: Robert Swap, Environmental Science
Community Partner: Tibetan Sustainable Environmental Resources for Increased Economic Growth (TSERING)
A Chinese international student studying Environmental Sciences and Philosophy and an American student studying Anthropology will partner to research tourism and waste management in relationship to the Tibetan community of Lhamo, China. They hope to identify how and why visitors are contributing to an expressed problem with waste accumulation, and the potential to educate visitors on their environmental impact on the area.

Student Researchers: Holly Mayton and Angela Liu
Faculty Advisor: Dana Elzey, Materials Science and Engineering
Community Partner: Bridges to Community
Holly and Angela are exploring the best and most sustainable ways that a locally established chocolate factory in a rural Nicaraguan community can meet required health and safety standards based on specific criteria, including health benefits, resilience, cost effectiveness, and labor intensiveness.

Student Researchers: Anna McMillen and Annie Plotkin
Faculty Advisor: Robert Swap, Environmental Science
Community Partner: Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation
This team will travel to Kahare, Nepal to further understand the process behind the Kevin Rohan Memorial Eco Foundation's (KRMEF) program of "Building What is On Hand" to create affordable, eco-friendly housing. Anna and Annie will also assess the social and environmental impact of this construction. They aim to use this knowledge to apply to other projects in other areas around the world that face similar challenges with waste and environmentally friendly construction.

Student Researchers: Kanchana Sthanumurthy and Neil Desai
Faculty Advisor: John Echeverri-Gent, Politics
Community Partner: Institute of Social Sciences
This group will work with the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS) in New Delhi, India, to conduct research in two slums determining which specific strategies of NGOs are more effective in empowering women slum dwellers to gain recognition of their property rights. The research will provide future NGOs the information they need to help provide lower-income women the agency to attain social and political empowerment.eets the needs and reinforces the strenths of the people in Limpopo Province, South Africa.