SEC Faculty Travel Awards for Collaboration Announced

University Relations

Top from left: Andrew Braham, Ana Bridges and Theresa Delaplain; bottom: Betsy Garrison, Christian Goering, Ringo Jones and Karthik Nayani.

The Southeastern Conference Faculty Travel Program was established in 2012 to promote collaboration between member universities. More than 100 faculty from across the SEC have been selected by their universities to participate in the program.

"The SEC Faculty Travel Program has always garnered significant interest from faculty, and we are encouraged by how our universities continue to identify a range of individuals to participate," said Torie A. Johnson, SEC associate commissioner for academic relations.

Seven U of A faculty will participate in the program this spring and summer. Faculty interested in participating during the next academic year should watch for the spring call for proposals.

Andrew Braham, associate professor of civil engineering, will travel to Auburn University to collaborate with professor David Timm to explore the life cycles cost analysis and life cycle assessment of pavements. They will explore theory and sustainability and work together to identify future sources of funding. 

Ana Bridges, professor of psychological sciences, will work with Eduardo Delgado-Romero at the University of Georgia on several initiatives, including a Spanish-language translation of a semi-structured diagnostic interview used in mental health assessments. The team will also brainstorm future collaborations, and Bridges will give research presentations to students.

Theresa Delaplain, teaching assistant professor of music, and ToniMarie Marchioni at the University of Kentucky will conduct master classes with students and work on a project Diversifying the Canon, which seeks to expand the traditional repertoire to include more women and people of color. Delaplain will also lead hands-on workshops on oboe reed-making.

Betsy Garrison, professor of human development, will travel to Lousiana State University to collaborate with Robert V. Rohli in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences on a project titled "The Impacts of Climate Change on Family and Community Resilience." The team will meet and develop community partners with an eye towards developing a grant proposal for further research.

Christian Goering, professor of teacher education, and Leslie Burns, associate professor of English education at the University of Kentucky, plan on offering pre- and in-service workshops on using storytelling, including songwriting, to give students agency to capture their stories. Their project, "Towards a Narrative Curriculum: Connecting Teachers, Contexts, and Lives through Story Exchange," will also be piloted in the state of Arkansas.

Ringo Jones, assistant professor of communication, will travel to the University of Alabama to collaborate with Michael Bruce, associate professor of journalism and creative media. The two will make a documentary on CrossingPoints Summer Bridge Program, which provides college-age students with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to experience post-secondary education. 

Karthik Nayani, assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Tibor Szilvasi, professor of chemical engineering at the University of Alabama, will work on several initiatives. Nayani will meet with faculty members and present a seminar. They will also work on a NIH-R21 proposal that seeks to develop wearable sensors to detect airborne coronaviruses.

The U of A is also hosting three faculty in the program. They are:

• Tibor Szilvasi, chemical and biological engineering, University of Alabama
• Christopher Mullen, civil engineering, University of Mississippi
• Georgene Troseth, psychology and human development, Vanderbilt University