University of Georgia Department of Anthropology / Ecological and Environmental

Laurie Reitsema wins UGA Faculty Research Seed Grant

The UGA Research Foundation has awarded biological anthropologist Laurie Reitsema an internal grant supporting research work by early-career faculty. She has received a Faculty Research Seed Grant at the award’s highest amount for the project “Colonizing the Mediterranean: Bioarchaeological evidence for human migration to ancient Greek colonies.” This $9,992.00 award will fund some of the skeletal strontium and oxygen isotope analyses that will provide more information about who is buried at ancient Greek colonies; whether locals or non-locals. This work is one component of an NSF grant Reitsema has submitted with her collaborators Britney McIlvaine (U. Northern Colorado) and Graciela Cabana (U. Tennessee). They will collect samples abroad this summer and will work on sample preparation and analysis in both summer and the 2014 academic year.

• In The Office of the Vice President for Research, University of Georgia

Biological anthropology faculty member Laurie Reitsema receives international award

Laurie Reitsema, assistant professor in biological anthropology, received the early-career mentoring award from the American Association of Physical Anthropologists. This international award targets for development someone in her or his first four years post-Ph.D. who shows significant potential to contribute to the AAPA. The association states that “the goal of the early-career mentoring program is to give recent Ph.D.s in biological anthropology the experience necessary to run for elected AAPA positions.” This two-year award includes a seat on the executive committee. Most significant among the privleges accorded to the award winner is the opportunity to be mentored by a board member; Reitsema shadowed AAPA president Professor Lorena Madrigal (U. South Florida) during the association’s 2012 annual meeting and will also work with the next president, Karen Rosenberg, Ph.D. (U. Delaware), at the 2013 meeting.

• In American Association of Physical Anthropologists

Professor Ervan Garrison receives “Rip Rapp” award from the Geological Society of America

The award is given by the archaeological geology membership in recognition of outstanding contributions to the interdisciplinary field of archaeological geology, and is named for the first recipient of the award.

Julie Velásquez Runk Awarded Multi-Agency Grant to Preserve Endangered Language

Julie Velásquez Runk has been awarded a grant through the Documenting Endangered Languages program, a partnership between the National Science Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. This program supports projects to develop and advance knowledge concerning endangered human languages. Made urgent by the imminent death of an estimated half of the 6000-7000 currently used human languages, this effort aims also to exploit advances in information technology. The main goal of Dr. Velásquez’s project is the documentation of Wounmeu, the language of the Wounaan, an indigenous people who inhabit eastern Panama and northwestern Colombia. She has worked with the Wounaan for 13 years and will work with collaborators from other U.S. universities; between them, they have collected sixty years of recorded myths and legends from Colombia and Panama from which to work. The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) will participate in the partnership as a research host, a non-funding role.

Julie Velásquez Runk Awarded Grant by Panama’s Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation

Dr. Velásquez Runk is Principal Investigator on a 2010 Science and Technological Advancement Grant awarded by the Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología, e Innovación (SENACYT), Panamá. She will use this $14,500 grant to develop, with anthropologists Monica Martinez and Blas Quintero, a bibliographic index on indigenous peoples of Panama to be hosted on the National Library’s website. The grant also funds a formal book launch of the print version.

 

Julie Velásquez Runk 2010-2012 Lilly Teaching Fellow

Dr. Julie Velásquez Runk has been made a 2010-2012 Lilly Teaching Fellow, admitting her to a competitive university-wide program focused on the scholarship of teaching. The UGA Lilly Teaching Fellows Program supports faculty members in developing effective teaching skills and balancing teaching with research and service, among related issues. Dr. Velásquez Runk is particularly interested in learning how to engage undergraduates in large introductory classes and how to best assist graduate students overwhelmed with heavy reading loads.

Bram Tucker Awarded UGA Graduate School Outstanding Mentoring Award

In May, the UGA Graduate School selected professor Bram Tucker to receive the 2010 annual Outstanding Mentoring Award in the Social and Behavioral Sciences category. This is one of just two such campus awards. Beyond conveying anthropological theory, concepts and research methods, Dr. Tucker is noted for his success in assisting his graduate students to obtain money from external sources. "Dr. Tucker makes student professional development a central component of his field research," said Elaina Lill, a Ph.D. student. Several students have secured funding from the National Science Foundation (including exceedingly competitive three-year NSF Graduate Research Fellowships), and the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Article Published

Maria Martinez-Rodriguez and Dr. Susan Tanner co-authored an article that will be published soon in Evolution and Human Behavior. The article is called "Cultural transmission of ethnobotanical knowledge and skills: an empirical analysis from an Amerindian society."

National Science Foundation award

The National Science Foundation has awarded a grant of $70,000 to Dr. Robert Rhoades to support his research and networking on climate change in the Andes. His project is called "Adapting to a World Without Glaciers."