This summer, Meena Khandelwal was awarded over $83,000 by the prestigious Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program to lead a group of UI students and faculty to India to investigate the curious case of the chulha- a wood fueled cook-stove- used in rural areas across India. Often cited as a cause of deforestation and pollution, efforts to replace them with solar cookers have been widespread but largely unsuccessful. This project will bring together UI engineers, anthropologists, urban planners, and historians to examine chulhas from every dimension: what has motivated efforts to improve them, what interventions have occurred, and why have these efforts tended to fail.

CPH faculty member Kelly Baker studies the cascade of health issues connected to water, sanitation, and hygiene

Phil’s Day 2015 is a day to celebrate philanthropy and the impact it has on the University of Iowa. These are just a few of the many UI students who were able to study or conduct research abroad in the past year, gaining invaluable experiences and memories that enhanced their education and lives, thanks to the generosity of private donors. Read on to learn about their unique adventures and projects.

The South Asian Studies Program (SASP) will continue its spring 2015 seminar series with a lecture by David Mason titled "Performative Suspension: The Limits of Liminality." The event is free and open to the public and will be held Monday, April 13, at 4:30 p.m. in 1117 University Capitol Centre. Chai and samosas will be served.

If you are reading this letter, you may be pondering the idea of studying abroad and trying to decide whether it is something you should do. As a senior in my last year in the College of Education, I debated the idea for many reasons, but the biggest one being the cost. See, my original goal coming out of high school and soon to be first generation college student was to go to college and excel in my academics in order to achieve greatness, but never was it in my plan to study abroad.

My first experience abroad was in Spain during winter break of my freshman year. While this was an enlightening experience, it was not so different from my own culture. Traveling to India, however, I was excited to explore those cultural and social differences. Starting with the sheer amount of people on the streets of Chennai, the town I flew into, I knew the YouTube travel videos I’d watched in preparation were not exaggerating.

SASP will continue its spring 2015 seminar series with a lecture by Isabelle Clark-Decès titled "The past and present of close-kin marriage in Tamilnadu." The event is free and open to the public and will be held Monday, February 23, from 4:30-6:00 p.m. in 1117 University Capitol Centre. Chai and snacks will be served.