2018 Seed Grants
Recipients:
- Eamonn Bell (Graduate Student; Department of Music)
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Katy Gero (Graduate Student; Department of Computer Science)
Description:
- By gathering advanced undergraduate and graduate students at Columbia University in a reading group, this project helped increase critical algorithmic literacy.
- Together, the group explored how AI – and the algorithms it makes use of – affects and interacts with other disciplines. There is a skills gap in both the computer scientists developing algorithms and those in the arts utilizing them.
- The reading group’s activities culminated with a public symposium at Columbia University in December 2018.
- Read the full article for more information about the reading group or visit its website.
Recipient:
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Alma Igra (Graduate Student; Department of History)
Description:
- This workshop will bring together graduate students from Columbia University and neighboring institutions with senior staff from the Max Planck Institute for History of Science in Berlin.
- Participants will discuss animals’ material and bodily presence, contributing to the ways we understand knowledge production, materiality, and the environment.
- The workshop will close with collaborative writing sessions.
Recipients:
- Sarika Khanwilkar (Graduate Student; Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology)
- Pooja Choksi (Graduate Student; Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology)
Description:
- This event series hosted panel discussions, workshops, and presentations to engage graduate students across disciplines.
- Themes included: science communication in academic and public contexts; storytelling with scientific tools; bridging the gap between research and practice; and best field practices.
Recipient:
- Ben Mylius (Graduate Student; Department of Political Science)
Description:
- The recipient of a 2017-2018 Seed Grant, the Ecosalon deepened and extended its community in the 2018-2019 year.
- Interdisciplinary collaboration around ecological issues is vital, but this partnership can be complicated as thinkers working on ecological questions often use the same concepts and language in vastly different ways.
- By gathering students from across the university to “learn each other’s languages,” the salon provided a safe and friendly venue to ask creative and unexpected questions across the disciplinary divide.
- Read the full article for more information about Ecosalon.
Recipient:
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Joan Robinson (Former Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Faculty of Law)
Description:
- This interdisciplinary study will help document the use of pregnancy testing technology as a surveillance tool or a condition of sentencing in the American criminal justice system.
- Though linking sociology with science and technology studies, this research can contribute to the larger conversation regarding criminal justice reform.
Recipients:
- Natasha Yamane (Graduate Student; Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology; Teachers College)
- Sylvie Goldman (Assistant Professor of Neuropsychology; Department of Neurology; Columbia University Medical Center)
- Rebecca Jordan-Young (Associate Professor; Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; Barnard College)
Description:
- Through readings, outside speakers, and research proposals, this group will highlight the importance of integrating biological and societal factors during the studying and teaching of autism spectrum disorders.
- Currently, more males have been diagnosed, mostly due to testing limitations and gender biases.
- Bringing together scholars and students, the Columbia community can explore further research pathways to help fully understand the role of sex and gender in autism spectrum diagnosis and intervention.
Recipients:
- Sarah Ying Bai (Undergraduate Student (2018); Department of English and Comparative Literature)
- James Gong (Undergraduate Student; Department of Astronomy)
- Coleman Sherry (Undergraduate Student; Department of History)
Description:
- With a focus on its undergraduate members, this reading group concentrated on plants and their role in current and historical societal concerns.
- While the weekly meeting discussed student-selected texts, there were also additional speaker sessions and field trips to add further context and learning opportunities.
- This interdisciplinary exchange helped further students understand the role of science in societies past and present.