Ben Gusdal is the 2026 Project Support Norway awardee. His research examines how Norway navigates the tension between being both a major petroleum producer and a global climate leader, using methods such as interviews, public conversations, scholarly analysis, and empirical data to investigate whether oil wealth obstructs or enables Norway’s climate ambitions. The project explores […]
Fulbright Research Grantee Ben Branaman, Arizona State University graduate, is the recipient of the 2025 Project Support Award Norway. Ben’s research in Norway involves studying the use of Electronic Monitoring (EM) as an alternative criminal sentencing practice, determining its impact on life outcomes, public safety and human rights. Working with Kriminalomsorgens Høgskole og Utdanningssenter (KRUS),
Leah Balter won the 2024 Norway Project Support Award. She will use the award to support her case study on Norway’s overlapping Covid-19 pandemic and Ukrainian refugee crisis responses at the University of Bergen. Leah earned her BA in Human Biology from Stanford University with Honors. After completing her Fulbright, she plans to attend medical
Eric is working on his multicultural video project on the transition from school to employment for people with developmental disabilities such as autism. Eric graduated from Yale with a BA in Political Science in 2020. Upon return to the United States, he plans to continue in video journalism, with a focus on telling the stories
The 2022 award went to Kathleen Maris Paltrineri. Kathleen is translating an anthology of ecopoetry to be published in the US where there is a lack of Norwegian poetry in translation. She will translate a total of nine poets writing in Bokmål, Nynorsk, and Sámi languages, carrying out her own translations from Bokmål and Nynorsk—the
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This year, the award went to Michelle Chang. Michelle is conducting research on Norwegian mindsets about death in collaboration with the University of Bergen’s Center for Crisis Psychology to support the Center’s work with the organizations it serves. She will use the Project Support Award to conduct and then analyze information obtained from community focus
Keegan is working towards a Master’s Degree in Philosophy, focused in development, sustainability, and cultural change at the University of Oslo. She plans to use her Project Support award to fund a research project surrounding a recent decision by the Norwegian government to allow mining waste dumping into a protected national salmon fjord. Upon her
Kaja Gjelde-Bennett, of Pacific Lutheran University, is studying language rights and revitalization of the Sami, the Indigenous peoples of Northern Scandinavia and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Her Roth Foundation award will allow her to travel to South Sami institutions in Norway and Sweden in order to gain access to their unique archives and conduct
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Kristen Gleason, of the University of Georgia, is conducting research in the contemporary Norwegian Arctic in order to advance her work in environmental theory and aesthetics as well as to aid in the writing of her novel, set in the near-future Arctic. Her Roth Foundation award will allow her to travel to several Northern arts
Sophia Angelis, of Harvard University, conducted comparative research on the role played by Norway’s prison architecture in creating humane environments that encourage rehabilitation. With her Roth Foundation award, she created an exhibition that illustrates alternatives to US prisons and supports discussion and research on the administration of justice in the United States.
Anna Offit, of Princeton University, received support for her fascinating ethnographic study of ambivalence about the role of lay decision-makers in the judicial system. Despite being a pioneer in safeguarding representative jury selection, Norway is now considering doing away with the jury system. Anna seeks to investigate this decision as well as examine the relationship
Solveig Mebust, of the University of Michigan, is conducting doctoral research on the role of women in music activism during the nineteenth century, an important topic, as female contributions to the production of music are often overlooked. One of the main subjects of Solveig’s research is Nina Hagerup Grieg, the wife of composer Edvard Grieg
Saint Olaf College’s Nora Uhrich undertook timely research on the treatment of female refugees in Norway who have experienced sexual trauma and the role of cultural differences in how their cases are handled. She hopes to raise awareness about this vulnerable population and use her research to inform and influence legislators who work on refugee
As costume designer undertaking a Master’s at Norway’s innovative Oslo National Academy of the Arts, she worked with Christina Lindgren, internationally known for her costumes for musical theater, opera, theater, and dance performances. In Norway, Peterson had her designs for the world premiere of Charles Mee’s play soot and spit in Arizona accepted, and was
Bassoonist Brigid Babbish took advantage of Norwegian orchestral traditions to advance her skill and musicianship; in preparation for recitals in Norway and the U.S., she used her LRE award to have a balance hanger made to accommodate the Norwegian conservatory style of playing standing up.
For her Fulbright project, journalist Juliana Hanle (Yale University) went to Norway to document the impact of industry on indigenous communities in Norway. Her Roth Foundation award allowed her to travel to the high arctic to report on local protests against big mining interests there. Julia continued to follow the story, and in November 2019
Janet Connor’s project explored how immigrant children are socialized to the complex language ideologies that exist within Norway. Unlike most other European nations, Norway has two standard written languages, each of which allows for much internal variation. Spoken Norwegian is made up of a large variety of regional dialects, and the use of a specific
Project on the relationship between environmental factors and social conflicts, undertaken at Norway’s Peace Research Institute in Oslo. Prior to going to Norway, Edelen had spent a year as an intern with the White House Task Force on Climate Change and Energy. Her Roth Foundation award enabled her to extend her data collection on water
Project on the influence of Japanese design on Sverre Fehn, Norway’s most influential late-20th-century architect. While in Norway, Ericson was the lead designer for a studio project to create a “green path” linking the Norwegian University of Science and Technology campus. Her Roth Foundation award allowed the recent Williams College graduate to travel to two
Project entitled “Designing for Learning,” which addresses the role that mobile telephone technologies play in children’s learning in public spaces. At the time, Steier was building on a Master’s degree from Stanford University.
Project on collective environmental values in the Norwegian welfare state. At the time, Nelson had just graduated from Williams College.
Project on the assimilation of Polish migrants into Norwegian society. Lugowe has a BA from Brown University.
Project on local community and politics in medieval Scandinavia, part of the Transformation Project at the University of Oslo’s Centre for Viking and Medieval Studies. Bidwell graduated from Smith College in 2003.