2017-18 Faculty Seed Fund Sprouts and Shoots: Part 3

December 5, 2018

In roundtables convened in Williams Hall November 1 and 15, 2018, faculty recipients of the 2018 Research and Teaching Seed Fund awards presented first fruits of their projects to faculty, staff and students. Drawing on those presentations, this series offers a brief glimpse of the exciting new initiatives in environmental humanities being developed by Penn faculty with support from the fund.

We are currently accepting applications for 2019 Seed Funds from faculty interested in building toward new courses, creating new public engagement tools or developing innovative cross-disciplinary research projects that push the boundaries of environmental inquiry at Penn.
 

FANTASY ISLAND: San Cristobal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

Karen M'Closkey (Landscape Architecture, PennDesign) and Michael Weisberg (Philosophy, School of Arts & Sciences)


Thanks to the PPEH seed funds, PennDesign landscape architecture students had an amazing trip to the Galápagos Islands in October! The design studio, "Fantasy Island: San Cristobal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador" led by Karen M’Closkey, is part of a larger cluster of projects initiated and directed by Michael Weisberg and local biologist Ernesto Vaca. The design studio is focused on Puerto Baquerizo Moreno on San Cristóbal Island. Students are currently developing models and drawings to draw attention to aspects of the landscape and town that are undergoing rapid change, including impacts from climate change and population growth. The studio results will be presented for a final review at Penn on December 18, 2018  and subsequently formatted into a booklet and presentation to be shared with San Cristóbal residents in March 2019.

See Part 1

See Part 2

See Part 4

See Part 5