Faculty Research Awards Spring 2022

SMALL GRANT AWARDS
SMALL GRANT AWARDS ARE FOR $6,000 OR LESS.

Professor David Hansen
Department of Chemistry

 

LARGE GRANT AWARDS
LARGE GRANT AWARDS ARE FOR MORE THAN $6,000 AND UP TO $30,000.

Professor Catherine Infante
Department of Spanish 
Title: Objects of Exchange: Women, Material Culture,and the Circulation of Knowledge in the Early Modern Mediterranean

Professor Infante will use FRAP funding to significantly advance the research on her second book project tentatively titled “Objects of Exchange: Women, Material Culture, and the Circulation of Knowledge in the Early Modern Mediterranean.” Drawing on a wide variety of fictional and historical texts in Spanish and Arabic, her book considers how the mobility of objects of material culture—including objects that circulated between the shores of the Mediterranean, paintings relating to captivity, clothing, books, sculptures, and tapestries, among other material goods—gave women access to knowledge of the early modern Mediterranean world, especially in relation to captivity and slavery. To research this project, Professor Infante will travel to Madrid and consult original sources at the National Library of Spain (BNE), as well as the Spanish National Archive (AHN), the Prado Museum, and the Museo del Traje. Alongside research on this monograph, she will organize a workshop at Amherst College with a small group of scholars to examine Christian-Muslim relations in the early modern Mediterranean world through the lens of material culture, which will help shape the trajectory of an interdisciplinary edited volume.

Professor Anna Martini
Department of Geology 
Title: Evaluating Organic Carbon Sources and Carbonate Mineral Dissolution in Natural and Restored Blue Carbon Ecosystems

Atmospheric CO2 is rising and contributing to the global warming we are experiencing. Obvious strategies for reducing this trend include eliminating our dependence on fossil fuels and changing land management practices. However, enhancing coastal blue carbon (BC) fluxes of organic carbon and in coastal ecosystems, may play a significant role. As of 2018, more than 50 nations have included BC budgets in their commitments to achieve the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. Mangrove and seagrass communities, however, are under great stress. Globally, human activities have decreased seagrass meadow environments by 19.1% since the late 1800s (Dunic et al., 2020) and mangrove forests by 20-35% between 1980 to 2010 (Polidoro et al., 2010). Restoration efforts of BC ecosystems have achieved moderate success, but more research is required to fully evaluate the effectiveness of these restoration projects (Saunders et al., 2020; Tan et al., 2020). Even with over $100 million having been spent on BC research, conservation, and other activities across the globe, yet there remain significant gaps in our understanding. This project aims to address three fundamental questions in BC science; 1) How can organic matter sources be estimated in BC systems? 2) How do organic and inorganic carbon cycles affect net CO2 fluxes? And 3) How does disturbance affect the burial fate of Blue Carbon? This project proposes a field and laboratory study in South Florida to help answer these questions.

Professor Jenna Riegel
Department of Theater and Dance
Title: are we intertwined? and Commissioned Works by Alice Sheppard and Ni'Ja Whitson

are we intertwined? is an original dance theater collaboration between performers/choreographers Jenna Riegel and Shaneeka (sha) Harrell. Conceived as a duet, the project takes inspiration from Octavia Butler’s novels Wild Seed and Parable of the Sower and the symbiotic mutualism of the African fig wasp and fig tree. It centers questions of symbiosis, interdependence, mutability, mutuality and race in interpersonal interactions and relationships. The project will investigate unique text and movement invention, improvisational scores and choreographic devices that draw upon the shared performance histories of Riegel and Harrell, most significantly their work with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. Over the academic year of 2022/2023, the plan is to complete a 45- 50 minute iteration of are we intertwined? through a series of rehearsal periods, confirm visual art/scenic, costume and sound design collaborators and aim to secure a venue to perform the work in the fall or spring of academic year 2023/2024. The Commissioned Works by Alice Sheppard and Ni’Ja Whitson will be two additional duets performed by Jenna Riegel and sha Harell that delve into adjacent or parallel research inquiries. The purpose of commissioning these works is to curate an evening of works to perform alongside are we intertwined? and intentionally situate Riegel and Harrell in Black and queer led creative spaces to deepen their understanding of Black and African diasporic cultural aesthetics, dance forms and approaches to art making. The FRAP will cover the costs to complete are we intertwined? and the development phase of the Alice Sheppard Project and, partially, the Ni’Ja Whitson Project. These costs include commissioning and artist fees, rehearsal space rentals, funding for travel accommodations and costume, set, video and sound design consultation and builds. In addition to the budget related to this application, for reference purposes also attached is a budget outlining the use of Riegel’s Faculty "Start-Up" funding, which covers the remaining expenses related to the Ni’Ja Whitson Project.