Grants

Funded Projects
Lecturers' Professional Development Fund (LPDF)
Project Title Overview of the Project
Teaching the Holocaust as a Language Course

$1048.00

I am applying for the LPDF grant so that I may attend 2015 ACTFL conference to give a presentation entitled Teaching the Holocaust as a Language Course. In so doing, I intend to share my ideas, and solicit ideas, from my colleagues on how to tackle the challenges associated with this important and complicated topic.
Specifically, I address the issue of balancing content and comprehension and the difficulty of staying true to the demands of language acquisition while trying to avoid the dangers of oversimplification. Those challenges make teaching the Holocaust as a language course relatively unique to other content language courses. The topic itself carries with it such sensitive emotional, psychological, political and socio-cultural material, that game based language teaching tactics often seem inappropriate or even dismissive of the enormity of the event. My presentation outlines some of the strategies, exercises and assignments, both successful and unsuccessful, that I have developed in an attempt to overcome the ever present challenges an instructor faces when teaching the Holocaust as a language course.
2016 AWP Conference & Book Fair

$1640.00

I'm requesting a grant to help fund my trip to the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) Conference in Los Angeles. The conference, which runs from March 30 to April 3, 2016, will further my professional development in several key ways. First, I plan to attend a number of panels (e.g., "Writing and ‘The Racial Imaginary'," "Delmore Schwartz: The Life and Work of an American Writer," "Nature's Nature: Eco-Poetry at Kenyon Review," "Why We Innovate: The Case for Hybrid Genres") that will encourage me to investigate both my practice (as a poet) and my pedagogy (as a Lecturer). Second, I'm scheduled to read from my forthcoming poetry collection, The Self-Styled No-Child (Waywiser Press, 2016), at one of the conference's off-site events and to sign copies of the book at the Conference Book Fair. Third, I'll have the opportunity to meet with editors from the Waywiser Press (based in London) and Ooligan Press (based in Portland, and publisher of Alive at the Center: Contemporary Poems from the Pacific Northwest, an anthology I coedited). Fourth, I'll have the chance to re-establish (or strengthen) ties with many poets and educators with whom I maintain professional relationships. I've attended the AWP Conference for the past seven years; I always feel recharged by the experience. A Lecturers' Professional Development Fund Grant would help to counterbalance the conference's one downside: the financial toll it takes on faculty who lack department-sponsored travel support.
The Energy Turn, Ecology and Sustainability - The Green City of Future,Freiburg (Goethe Institute Seminar)

$2000.00

The specific seminar that I am applying for is called "Energy Turn, Ecology and Sustainability - The Green City of Future", which is a new seminar offered by the Goethe Institute this year. In this two-week seminar I will learn about Germany's politically supervised shift in direction from nuclear and fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. Germany is in the process of completely transforming its energy sector at a pace unmatched by other industrialized nations. Nuclear power is being phased out as renewables are gradually taking over. This seminar will inform us about the specific aspects of the German "Energiewende". This topic is of enormous current interest and relevance, both for understanding German politics, culture and society, and for teaching about these issues in the United States. Indeed, our next German Day (an outreach event that brings around 1,000 high school students to UM in April) will be dedicated to precisely this topic. We hope to be teaching regularly in this field in the coming years as a way of underlining the relevance of learning about German language and culture more generally.
Lithography Printmaking Workshop

$2000.00

I am applying for this LPDF grant to attend a professional art workshop at the Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the topic of lithographic printmaking.

I teach two printmaking classes at the Residential College every winter semester. I am interested in covering as wide a range of printmaking techniques as possible, while still maintaining the classroom as a non-toxic studio. I believe that, given current ecological and environmental concerns, it is important to shift towards processes that minimize use and exposure to hazardous substances.

Lithography is the most versatile of all print media since it can replicate a wide variety of mark-making including both tonal and line information. However, when done via the traditional lithographic stones, it requires a special lithographic press and it is a rather involved process due to the cost and weight of the stones. On the other hand, lithographic plates can be printed with a regular etching press (already in existence and in use at the classroom where I teach), the plates are portable and low-cost, and the process requires a minimum amount of solvents (very low toxicity).

The use of these plates would allow the students a unique opportunity to explore lithographic printing within the parameters of a non-toxic studio. I would like to attend this workshop to learn more about the process so that I may be able to incorporate it into the curriculum for future printmaking classes at the Residential College.
Attendance and paper presentation at an international academic conference (Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science) at MIT
Ilya Volkovich
Engineering

$2000.00

I am requesting funds for travel to the 7th annual world-leading conference in Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science (ITCS) held at MIT in January of 2016, sponsored by ACM Special Interest Group on Algorithms and Computation Theory (SIGACT). ITCS is one of the largest and most cutting-edge meetings devoted to Theoretical Computer Science in the world where international experts meet and exchange ideas. Therefore, my attendance would provide me exposure to many new ideas and people that would positively influence my research and teaching. Because ITCS seeks to promote research that carries a strong conceptual message (e.g., introducing a new concept or model, opening a new line of inquiry within traditional or interdisciplinary areas, or introducing new techniques or new applications of known techniques), the presenters and papers discussed challenge common thinking and expand theoretical Computer Science thought. Upon selection of my own submission, I would also contribute to this ground-breaking conference of leaders in Theoretical Computer Science. In addition, the content of the conference is strongly aligned with the classes I am and will continue teaching this year (Foundations of Computer Science). Listening to the latest innovations in Theoretical Computer Science would ensure that I could relay these concepts to my students to increase students' interest and expand the department's strength at UM. My attendance would also further my contribution to an on-going project to increase awareness of Theoretical Computer Science education on campus.
Attending the 38th Chamber Music America Annual Conference
Amy Cheng
Music, Theatre & Dance

$2000.00

Chamber Music America is one of the leading organizations in the world for Chamber Music. The organization promotes Jazz, Classical Chamber Music and Contemporary Collaborative Arts through its commissioning and performing grant programs and provides critical information in the field of Chamber Music through its comprehensive website, Chamber Music Magazine and E-Newsletter. I believe that attending the Chamber Music America 38th Annual Conference will be an opportunity for me to observe and be in contact with what is at the forefront of the Chamber Music field. I believe that attending the conference will be a way to establish a presence as a representative for the U of M Piano Chamber Music area. Furthermore, the information I will gather will directly benefit our students in LP 588 (Piano Chamber Music Survey) and ENS 466-566 (Piano Chamber Music). In addition, I am hoping to develop a relationship with the New York Intercultural Music Society, Inc. (NYIMS), a nonprofit organization dedicated to performing, promoting, and commissioning musical works from intersections of Western and non-Western cultures. My vision is to develop a collaborative relation with the NYIMS and Confucius Institute either through a performing concert or lecture presentation on the U of M Campus, and perhaps also in New York City.
The Seeds of Power: Cereal Crops and Exchange Networks. Paper to be presented at the Society for American Archaeology Meeting

$1369.00

I am requesting conference registration fee, travel and accommodation funding from the CRLT Lecturers' Development Fund to attend The Society for American Archaeology (SAA) annual meeting in Orlando, FL, in April 2016. At the conference I will present a paper illustrating preliminary results on new cutting-edge methodological developments in isotopic analysis applied to archaeobotanical material. The conference will provide an ideal opportunity to gain international exposure for this innovative research, an U of M collaborative effort between classical archaeology and geochemistry. Participation at the annual meeting will allow me to obtain important feedback and information on possible other experimental research that can be used to improve the course material for two classes that I currently teach on archaeological field methods and paleoethnobothany.
The Contemporary Endocrinology of Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Adina Turcu
Medical School

$2000.00

For over two years, my research has focused on congenital adrenal hyperplasia and other adrenal disorders. Through this application, I am seeking financial support for traveling to the annual Endocrine Society Meeting and to the preceding satellite Adrenal Cortex meeting, both held in Boston, MA, in March/April, 2016. These two meetings will enrich my professional development in multiple ways. First, attendance of the numerous educational sessions will augment my Endocrinology clinical knowledge and help apply that to my patient care. Second, the several career development workshops offer an interactive environment, where I can learn from experts in the field, interact with peers and improve my writing craftsmanship. As I strive to become a successful physician-scientist, participation in these workshops will improve my skills to develop and implement successful hypothesis-driven research and it will benefit my career path as an emerging investigator in the field of adrenal research. Third, by presenting data from my ongoing projects in these meetings, I will have the opportunity to showcase my research in front of renowned Endocrinologists and receive valuable feedback for future studies and endeavors. Lastly, I will establish ties with many leaders in the field of Endocrinology, and seek future collaborations, critical in the advancement of research in rare diseases, like congenital adrenal hyperplasia.
In summary, funding from the Lecturers’ Professional Development Fund would be invaluable, by facilitating my attendance of the largest and most important career enhancing event of the year in Endocrinology.
Attendance at Academic Conference on Engineering Education
Mike Umbriac
Engineering

$2000.00

I am requesting funding from the CRLT Lecturers' Professional Development Fund to attend the 2016
American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) conference from June 26-29, 2016 in New Orleans,
Louisiana. In recent years, I have increased the amount of engaged learning in my ME250 and ME350
(Design and Manufacturing I and II) classes, and am particularly interested in exploring ways to increase
the amount of peer-to-peer learning during lectures and labs, and also ways to provide students with
immediate feedback on assessments about their understanding of each problem and their solution to it.
The topics presented at the annual ASEE conference include these topics as well as information on
successfully implementing flipped classrooms. I plan to incorporate these advanced pedagogies into my
ME250 and ME350 classes, and the results of these improvements will benefit the 320 students each
semester who are taking those classes.
Attendance at academic conference to present research on workplace communication practices

$1505.00

I am applying for funding to attend the 2016 College Composition and Communication Conference (CCCC) in Houston, Texas from April 6–9, 2016. My paper, "Looking back to look forward: Taking action to provide relevant communication instruction within the engineering curriculum," was recently accepted to the conference as part of a panel focused on bridging gaps between the academy and industry practices. Attending the 2016 conference will allow me to learn from and network with national scholars and bring their research and teaching practices to my colleagues at the University of Michigan to benefit our students' learning in our classroom.
smithsonian museum of african american history: research and interviews
Craig Wilkins
Architecture and Urban Planning

$2000.00

From Benjamin Banneker, who worked with architect Charles L'Enfant to bring it into existence; to the men and women penned and sold in its markets; to both enslaved and free laborers and craftsmen who helped build many of its historic structures including the Capitol and White House, African-Americans have been a consistent, if often invisible, presence on the National Mall. A Whisper That Wants To Shout: The Autobiography of the National African American Museum of History and Culture, an account of the century-long struggle to honor on the National Mall the rich and complex African-American experience as recalled by the only perennial observer of that struggle, the museum itself. Despite the scheduled 2016 opening of the National African American Museum of History and Culture (NAAMHC), the details of its journey have largely gone untold, much less understood, in its proper context; one that centers around the unique relationship of African-Americans to the National Mall and the Mall's singular importance in the construction, celebration and aims of American identity. A Whisper extends the work on race, space and identity I began in The Aesthetics of Equity: Notes on Race, Space, Architecture and Music into here-to-fore uncharted territory for architectural criticism: a narrative non-fiction archeology of the century-long struggle of African-Americans to establish a specific cultural presence on the National Mall and concomitantly, in America's image of self.
Beekeeping Research and Training in Germany

$2000.00

I am requesting funding to support a month-long beekeeping research and training trip through Germany in the summer of 2016. I propose to visit a range of beekeeping organizations over a four-week period, each located in a different geographical region and setting. The types of organizations would consist of honey bee research institutes at German universities, commercial apiaries, honey bee outreach programs that seek to educate the public about the importance of honey bees, and urban beekeepers who are promoting beekeeping in cityscapes. At each location I visit, I will meet with my beekeeping hosts and carry out an array of activities that will be diverse in nature, depending upon the host. These activities range from dialogue and interviews to visiting and photographing bee hives and apiaries, to observing and working with beekeepers as they tend to their hives or promote their educational programs. I will also attend workshops and events sponsored by the organizations. These include, for example, outreach events and beekeeping training sessions and field trips offered by apiaries and bee research institutes.
Paper Presentation at a Professional Conference (SCS)

$1100.00

Travel to the annual convention of the Society for Classical Studies (aka APA) held in New Orleans, LA Jan 8-11, 2015 to give a paper entitled "Dialectic as autopsia: a lesson in Neoplatonic rationality" as part of a panel on The Greeks and the Irrational. In the paper, I discuss a fragment from Damascius' Philosophical history which captures a unique teaching moment from Late Antiquity (5AD). The philosopher Isidore triggered a life-changing transformation in the mind of the obscure Dorus from Arabia, who was a learned Aristotelian. Isidore revealed to him aspects of dialectic, which were until then unknown to Dorus. I will argue that despite the fact that Neoplatonism since the work of Dodds (The Greeks and the Irrational) had become heavily associated with the ‘irrational', late antique Neoplatonist philosophers themselves viewed their teaching activity as the pinnacle of rationality both in content and approach. The term describing Isidore's teaching of dialectic in this fragment is autopsia, a scientific term for disinterested objectivity that researchers since Herodotus had used to distinguish their empirical and data-based methodology from hearsay and myth.
Teaching, technology, and the building of professional communities of support

$1285.00

In the graduate course that I teach for the MAC (secondary teacher certification) Program on teaching with technology, my goals are to help my students think creatively about using web-based technology to enhance student learning, and to provide them with meaningful professional experiences that connect them with the larger community of educators. My application for funding is linked to a plan designed to work purposefully towards reaching these goals. In previous years, my students have attended Michigan's annual conference on teaching with technology, the MACUL (Michigan Association of Computer Users in Learning) Conference. This year, I am applying to have my students actually present at the conference, with their presentations based on work they do in class in which they teach their peers how specific new technology tools can enhance student learning across the disciplines. In a day when both teachers and school funding are under siege, new teachers must be able to speak articulately and publicly about their practice, so the other part of my plan is to invite graduates of our program, who themselves do professional development work, to attend a "dress rehearsal" of the presentation and to offer feedback to my students. I want my students to participate in rich professional conversations, and I also want to strengthen ties with our alumni community, and I believe that my plan, at a very modest cost, will accomplish all of this, while providing my students with a valuable personal and professional experience.
Locating Digital Storytelling in the Undergraduate Creative Writing Curriculum: Panel Presentation at the Association of Writers and Writing Program’s Annual Conference
Laura Thomas
LSA - Residential College

$1705.00

I am requesting conference participation fees, travel and accommodation funding from the CRLT Lecturers' Development Fund to present a paper at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs 2015 Annual Conference and Bookfair in Minneapolis, MN. AWP was founded in 1967 to support the growing presence of literary writers in higher education, and is the professional organization for creative writing teaching professionals and writers. I will be a presenter on the panel Locating Digital Storytelling in the Undergraduate Creative Writing Curriculum based on a proposal I authored. This panel of university faculty will examine how electronic media is impacting the teaching of creative writing.
Attendance at the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting

$1960.00

With the advent of the Ophthalmology Milestone Project, educators across the country are seeking new ways to better assess resident performance. Residents currently keep records of every patient seen on call in accordance with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements, and these logs are potential sources of valuable information on resident clinical experience and progress if stored in an easily accessible format. An iPad application was developed to document information about each on call patient encounter in real time. The application was implemented at the Kellogg Eye Center starting January 1st, 2014 and preliminary data was gathered for 5 months. The number of patients seen per call ranged from 0 to 21 with a mode of 2. The average number of patients seen on a weeknight was 3.5 versus 9.5 on a weekend day. Additional data was compiled regarding types of consults seen, types of diagnoses seen, and duration of encounters. The digital call log application is a useful tool for ascertaining numerous parameters of the resident call experience. This will be helpful in assessing the call system as a whole for quality improvement as well as evaluating individual residents according to ACGME milestones. The project will be presented at the annual meeting of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology in Tucson, Arizona in January 2015. This will be an invaluable experience to share our data and to learn more about the current challenges and innovations in ophthalmology education across the country.
Photopolymer printmaking workshop

$1062.00

I am applying for this LPDF grant to attend a professional workshop at Zea Mays Printmaking studio in Florence, Massachusetts, on the topic of photopolymer plates. I will be teaching two art-printmaking classes at the Residential College during winter 2015 semester. I am interested in covering as wide a range of printmaking techniques as possible, while still maintaining the classroom as a non-toxic studio. I believe that, given current ecological and environmental concerns, it is important to shift towards processes that minimize use and exposure to hazardous substances. Under typical circumstances the last directive would unfortunately eliminate intaglio, as etching is a process which traditionally uses an acid to etch copper/zinc plates, along with the use of powerful solvents and tar-based compounds. However, in the last decade non-toxic alternatives, such as photopolymer plates, have emerged in the field of printmaking. These plates feature a steel-backed photopolymer plate with a photo-sensitive polymer emulsion on top. The only equipment and chemicals that this process requires is an exposure-unit (already available at the Residential College), and water for developing. There are no acid or toxic solvents required at all. The results are comparable to traditional copper plates. The use of these plates would allow the students a unique opportunity to explore intaglio printmaking within the parameters of a non-toxic studio. I would like to attend this workshop to learn more about the process so that I may be able to incorporate it into the curriculum for winter 2015 and future semesters.
Authenticity Reconsidered: Archival Research, Scholarly Presentation, and Publication
Bradley Taylor
Administration

$2000.00

I am requesting $2,000 in CRLT funding to support travel related to a publication/ presentation project that will require primary resource research in Gloucestershire, a county in rural England. As a result of a previous research trips to London and Manchester, I have learned of repositories in three different locations in Gloucestershire (Gloucester, Snowshill, and Cheltenham) which house archival photographs and original documents that relate to the purchase, de-construction, transfer, and reconstruction of two-seventeenth century stone cottages and a stone forge that now exist in Henry Ford's outdoor museum, Greenfield Village, in Dearborn, Michigan. With this trip, I will have completed all the work required to tell the story of Ford's collecting trips to the U.K., specifically his purchase of two historic buildings. Given the troubled histories of these two preservation efforts, the results shed dramatic new light on the concepts of authenticity and originality in museums. And while this trip is largely research focused, I have been invited to give at least two guest lectures (with the possibility of a third) on my return to England. I would be happy to use some of this CRLT funding to allow me to travel back to Manchester and to rural Cambridgeshire to make these presentations. The project I propose relates directly to my teaching in the Museum Studies Minor and classroom discussions of the unique nature of original works of creation, the quintessential nature of experiencing those objects in person, and issues relating to originality and authenticity.
Impact of age and comorbidity on thyroid cancer decision making

$2000.00

The incidence of thyroid cancer is rising and its aggressiveness increases with age. There is a recognized association between older age and worse outcomes. Surgical intervention remains the standard of care, in accordance with recent management guidelines. However, although age is not a contraindication to thyroid surgery, recent studies found that older patients with thyroid cancer are less likely to receive guideline concordant care, despite proven benefits. In addition, post-operative thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) suppressive therapy is now considered standard of care for high-risk patients with differentiated thyroid cancer and results in improved clinical outcomes. Nevertheless, due to its adverse effects especially in older adults, the degree of TSH suppressive therapy may need to be adjusted accordingly in this population. In summary, although surgery and post-operative TSH suppressive therapy are considered standard of care for patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, the factors involved in thyroid cancer management decision-making in older adults remain unclear. Our project aims to determine whether patients with thyroid cancer aged ≥65 years receive optimal surgical treatment, including referral to experienced high volume surgeons, through the use of provider surveys. We expect to find unique barriers in the referral of patients ≥65 years versus younger adults. We will also determine the providers' role in post-operative thyroid hormone replacement in older adults with thyroid cancer. We expect to find that providers will not factor age, comorbidities, functional status, and risks for complications in their treatment algorithm regarding post-operative TSH suppressive therapy in older thyroid cancer patients.
Enhancing scholarship and collaboration through attendance at a scientific meeting
Aki Morikawa
Medical School

$2000.00

I am requesting funds for travel to a scientific meeting (San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium) in December of 2014. This is one of the largest scientific meetings devoted only to breast cancer research and is attended by breast cancer researchers from around the world. Attendance at this meeting will highly impact my development as a breast cancer researcher. Practice changing study results are often presented at this meeting. In addition, there are seminars and lectures providing a general review of basic science, translational science, and clinical topics. Moreover, there is always an opportunity to foster collaborations with academic researchers and industry. Since my outside collaborators will be attending the meeting, it would provide me with a face-to-face time to follow-up on various scientific collaborative projects with others from outside institutions. Attendance at this meeting will not only enhance my breast cancer research endeavor and career but also will allow for professional networking in the field.
Gross Loss/Net Gain

$2000.00

This proposal seeks a grant from the Professional Development Fund in the amount of $2,000 to research and develop a project exploring tactics of preservation as they intersect with health services in Detroit. Given the city's shifting structure, it is apparent that planned downsizing might be the best strategy to accommodate its changes. I would like to research how we might use "shrinking" as a preservation strategy on a building-by-building basis: looking at how a range of building scales, from single-family homes to factories, might be strategically preserved through restricted occupation. The project begins with research—reviewing sites of potential preservation and understanding precedents of "shrinking" and re-use—to begin experiments in architectural form and methods of transposing new organizations onto old structures. Such formal inquiries begin to make demands on the value of preservation itself: what does closing down existing architecture in turn open up? Concurrent and related to this project of preservation is an investigation into public health issues in the city. As the infrastructures of the city transform, so too might its public services. This project produces two strands of inquiry: interpreting historical character while understanding new modes of collective and transient occupation with a focus on healthcare facilities. Development funds would go primarily towards research, documentation, and material production—the project begins with analysis but results in a novel design strategy. It is conceived as a teaching tool: a methodology of experimental preservation that will be used as a studio model and pedagogical approach.
Bottom-Up Detroit
Ana Morcillo Pallares
Architecture and Urban Planning

$2000.00

"Bottom-up Detroit" is a proposal which seeks support for research on small-scale, small-budget, and light-infrastructure urban projects in Detroit. The project evolved to the idea of "Placeholders" and the exploration of alternative uses of Detroit's available space through interventions that hold, denote or reserve a space for public use. The work has been developed in an exhibition titled "Place-holders" which have brought a different reading of Detroit's urban density through the analysis of eleven initiatives in the city which negotiate the unique spatial condition between the citizen demands and municipal regulations. The funding have provided an opportunity to visit, document, and analyze projects which are based on the urgency of solving the continual problem of open space in Detroit. The study is of importance to my own research and pedagogical ambitions.
Soccer: New Goals for the German Curriculum

$1200.00

Sports has been a major theme on our campus: not simply because of the University's past and present athletic achievement but also because of the integration of what seems extracurricular (sports) into the curricular mainstream (LSA theme semester) this term. Last Fall, I proposed a session at this year's ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) Convention in San Antonio (November 21-23, 2014.) This panel, which is titled "Soccer: New Goals for the German Curriculum" and in which I will serve as chair, was approved: other participants include Professor Stephan Schindler (University of South Florida) and the Goethe Institut Chicago. My funding application is to cover expenses to attend the conference.
Corsica Project, Residential College

$1130.00

In November of 2013 I brought a small performance project (an interface of medieval and modern drama) involving of myself and three RC Drama students, to a cultural festival in Patrimonio, Corsica. This festival focusses on the traditional 11 November feast day of the town's patron saint, Martin of Tours. (See report in the Fall issue of RC News attached.) Our production was well received by the festival participants and got a very favorable notice in the local Corse Matin and the national Nouvel Observateur. We were enthusiastically invited back for 2014.
2015 AWP Writers Conference Panel Presentation and Bookfair
Jeremiah Chamberlin
LSA - English Language and Literature

$2000.00

To attend the 2015 AWP Writers Conference as a presenter on the panel "God Made Flyover States: Writing the Rural Midwest," which relates directly to and will help inform my continued teaching of Midwestern, Michigan, and Rust Belt Literatures in the English Department at the University of Michigan, as well as to participate in the bookfair as the Editor-in-Chief of Fiction Writers Review, an online literary journal founded by University of Michigan alumni. I also hope to attend a number of talks and panels focused on the teaching of writing in general and the pedagogy of creative writing in particular, with special attention to issues related to teaching genre literature, integrating new media and digital publishing in the classroom, and effectively interacting with student writing as a critical respondent.