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2024 Global Engagement Seed Fund Awardees

Following the launch of the new 2024 Seed Funding for Strategic Research Initiatives,  University College of Dublin  and the  (opens in a new window)University of Massachusetts, Amherst  are pleased to announce the successful applications that will foster novel, multidisciplinary collaborations between the two institutions.

The successful candidates and their project title are:

UCD Professor Eoin Casey & UMass, Amherst - Associate Professor Caitlyn Butler
 Sustainable Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes
Professor Eoin Casey   Professor Caitlyn Butler
  
The objective of this project is to exploit synergies between UCD and UMass Amherst in the area of biofilm technology which is critical to the development of sustainable water/wastewater treatment processes. The specific objective is to host a research workshop in UCD in 2024 to include participants from both universities and to follow up with a subsequent large-scale funding proposal that will create a longer term partnership enhancing the thematic mission of sustainability at both institutions.

UCD Associate Professor Eoin O'Cearbhaill & UMass, Amherst - Professor Cathal Kearney  
Development and Evaluation of Focused Ultrasound Devices
Associate Professor Eoin O'Cearbhaill   Professor Cathal Kearney

The UCD Medical Device Design Group and the Kearney Group at UMass Amherst share a common interest in the development of focused ultrasound for non-invasive medical applications. This project will bring together complementary expertise in medical device design and development, ultrasound-activated biomaterial synthesis and associated test models towards the development of the next-generation of non-invasive therapeutic devices.

UCD Professor Cathryn Costello & UMass, Amherst - Professor Rebecca Hamlin
The Law & Politics of the Global Refugee Regime
Professor Cathryn Costello   Professor Rebecca Hamlin

The Research Partnership on the Law and Politics of the Global Refugee Regime, convened by Co-PIs, Professors Rebecca Hamlin (UMass) and Cathryn Costello (UCD) aims to engage in and enable interdisciplinary research on the role of international refugee law in the global refugee regime. In particular, the partnership aims to develop and foster deeper global comparative research on refugee recognition practices, and the role of refugees in shaping the global refugee regime.

UCD Assistant Professor David DeFranza & Umass, Amherst - Associate Professor Soo Young Bae
The impact of opinion leaders in the propagation and correction of misinformation
Assistant Professor David DeFranza   Professor Soo Young Bae

This project explores the multi-faceted impact of misinformation, through computational analyses of large-scale social media data in combination with a cross-cultural analysis of social media use in the UK and USA. We analyze 4.5 million social media posts generated by 350,000 users and reveal the role of opinion leaders in spreading and correcting misinformation. We further examine their impact on social media users’ information perceptions with nationally representative surveys in the UK and USA.

UCD - Professor Judith Harford & UMass, Amherst - Professor Jack Schneider
Civics and human rights education in schools in Ireland and the US: Implications for Democracy and Citizenship

Professor Judith Harford  Professor Jack Schneider

The rise of political polarisation across the globe presents many challenges for young people including feeling detached from the democratic process. Increasingly, governments look to schools to design curricular initiatives that will inform young people’s understanding of the role of political and social institutions in shaping society and develop their capacity to engage in reflective and active citizenship. This project explores evolving curricular initiatives in Ireland and the US and their implications for democracy and participatory citizenship.


UCD - Professor Denis Dowling & UMass & Amherst - Professor Sundar Krishnamurty 
Collaboratively explore and discover opportunities to advance sustainable manufacturing

Professor Denis Dowling  Professor Sundar Krishnamurty

The Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering has formed a research partnership with the I-Form Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at UCD to collaboratively explore and discover opportunities to advance sustainable manufacturing. The UMass Amherst campus will host a Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing Symposium during 2024 that will invite researchers from UCD and their partners to participate with our partners.


UCD - Professor Aiden O'Sullivan & UMass, Amherst - Professor Eric Poehler 
Recording how previous human groups succeeded and eventually failed to address the pressing issues of their day

Professor Aiden O'Sullivan  Professor Eric Poehler 

As recent scholarship has demonstrated (see the discussion and critiques of Graeber and Wengrow’s book The Dawn of Everything), the archaeological record is a relatively untapped body of data for comparative understandings of contemporary societies. For example, there are many lessons from the previous centuries of human experimentation of the building of cities and cultures that can inform our understanding of modern urbanism’s sustainability as well as the wellbeing of the societies that live within and beyond urban centers. The archaeological research at both UMass and UCD, even when not directly aimed at these outcomes, creates a record of how previous human groups succeeded and eventually failed to address these (among other) issues. With this grant research collaborations will be explored amongst these two faculties through discussions about how such collaborations can lead to future research projects and create opportunities for exchange between both faculty and students. 

UCD - Associate Professor Laura K. Taylor & UMass, Amherst - Professor Linda Tropp
Develop and publish a second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Intergroup Conflict (Oxford University Press)

ssociate Professor Laura K. Taylor  Professor Linda Tropp

Co-editors Dr. Linda Tropp (UMass Amherst) and Dr. Laura Taylor (University College Dublin) will develop and publish a second edition of the Oxford Handbook of Intergroup Conflict (Oxford University Press). This edited volume will pool key insights from across disciplines to serve as a resource for academic scholars and civil society organisations who seek to understand key drivers of intergroup conflict and identify strategies to mitigate their effects.

UCD and UMass, Amherst would like to acknowledge the high calibre of all applications to this seed fund and wish all applicants good luck with their projects.

UCD GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT

University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
T: +353 1 716 8635 | E: vpforglobalengagement@ucd.ie