Sydney Erlikh is a PhD candidate in disability studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She will use the 2024 Finland Roth-Thomas Award to support her project on the culture and artistic process of dancers with intellectual disability in collaboration with the University of the Arts’ Theatre Academy and the Kaaos Dance Company in Helsinki. […]
Irina Wang was selected for her project on Visualizing Indigenous Perspectives on Arctic Climate Change. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, she will use the award to develop gameplay materials to facilitate conversations with and among herders on the impact of climate change on reindeer husbandry in collaboration with colleagues from CHARTER
Timothy Sowa was selected for his project on Sustainable Digital Education. He will use the award to travel and expand his engagement with Finnish educators, researchers and students on how social sciences and technology can work together to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He is currently working on his Master’s degree in Social Science
Kathlyn Elliott is pursuing a Ph.D. in Education at Drexel University. She plans to use the Roth-Thomson Award to support her research on the pedagogical tools used in the Finnish education system to prevent violent extremism and dismantle already existing violent extremism. Upon her return to the U.S., Kathlyn plans to finish her education, in
Lexi is pursuing a Master’s of Science degree in International Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Lappeenranta. She plans to use the Roth-Thomson Award to support her sociological research on the ways in which globalization of the pharmaceutical business could optimize the innovation of drugs and reduce cost for the consumer. Upon her return
Anna Bodgan is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Global Politics and Communication at the University of Helsinki. She plans to use the Roth-Thomson Award to support her research project on the spread of misinformation in the discussion of politics online. Upon her return to the U.S., Anna plans to apply her studies to a position
Kayleigh Anderson is researching the experiences of indigenous Sami women through a feminist lens as part of her graduate program in gender studies at the University of Turku. With the Roth-Thomson Award, she will extend her stay in Finland and expand her research to include questions of cultural appropriation and the Sami people. Upon her
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Sarah Holdren, of Elon University, is researching the cross-cultural similarities and differences between U.S. and Finnish neonatal care. With the help of her Roth-Thompson Award, she will be able to expand her project by observing the full implementation of Finland’s Close Collaboration with Parents plan, a program designed to promote parent-infant closeness in NICUs. Upon
Carolyn Kehn, of the United States Military Academy at West Point, is studying the cross-cultural differences in gender equality in the U.S. and Finnish militaries. Her Roth-Thompson Award will allow her to create a more in-depth study, as she will be able to interview military officials and female soldiers in both the U.S. and Finland
Emily Olsen, of the Center for Disease Control, conducted timely research into anti-bullying programs with renown experts. She plans to earn her PhD from Finland’s University of Tampere.
Tiffany Viggiano (University of California at Riverside) used her grant to focus on disseminating her dissertation research on internationalization policies and global responsibility in higher education to colleagues, practitioners and policy-makers in Finland.
Hannah Duncan, of Brown University, received support to attend a master’s programin education and social justice at the University of Helsinki. She hopes that learning from Finland’s equity-based approach to early childhood education will prepare her to advocate for more effective multicultural education policies after completing law school in the U.S. Funds from the Roth
The second grant was awarded to Natalia Magnani who is conducting independent research on the revitalization of Skolt Sami culture through the revival of plant-based skills and knowledge. She is engaging with both young, urban indigenous populations, as well as more traditional groups to rediscover and share traditional identities and customs. Our project support grant
Rebekah Zimmerer, of University of Massachusetts, Amherst, received an honorable mention in support of her comparison of private landowners’ forestry practices in Finland and the U.S. Support from the Roth Foundation has enabled Rebekah to extend her stay in Finland and helped her explore, more specifically, the role of gender in forestry practices.
Heidi Katz received support for a Masters degree in Learning, Learning Environments and Educational Systems from the University of Turku in southwestern Finland. She is used this opportunity to research school support of student autonomy and to compare teaching methods in Finland, Spain and Cameroon. Heidi hoped to apply the educational practices she learned in
Stephanie Jazmines of Yale University used her time in Finland to observe and learn first-hand Scandinavian design and craft through the Alvar Aalto Wood Program. Our project support enabled her to visit historic wooden structures around Finland after completing these studies. After her Fulbright Fellowship, Stephanie planned on further honing her wood-oriented architectural skills and
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Taylor Tyger (Georgia Institute of Technology) conducted research on the health benefits of urban aquatic environments. She was based at the Finnish Environment Institute, at Aalto University, and worked as part of an ongoing national project focusing on “Environmental Justice and Ecosystem Services” in the Helsinki region. She presented her findings on the little-studied “blue
Based at the Arctic Center in Rovaniemi, Michael Brown (University of Washington) sought to evaluate Finland’s new arctic policy in order to construct a comparative assessment of Finnish and US approaches to environmental issues in the arctic. This project is timely, as the U.S. is currently chairing the Arctic Council (2015-17), after which Finland will
Project on how teachers’ unions participate in and impact the education policy-making process in Finland. Whorton focused on the involvement of teachers’ unions in reforming compensation packages, in part as the role of labor relations in K-12 education reform is an area of growing controversy in the U.S. Her Roth-Thomson Award helped fund the translation
Project on the elements of Finnish culture and education contributing to high rates of student success in mathematics. As a mathematics teacher in Brooklyn, Knowles is acutely aware of the obstacles her students face, including: a social disconnect from school in general, and mathematics in particular; lack of self confidence, nutrition and exercise; low levels
Christin Boggs (Rochester Institute of Technology) was in Finland to document traditional and urban food practices in Finnish gastronomic culture. With her Roth-Thomson award, she produced an exhibit entitled “Viljellä, a photographic exploration of Helsinki garden, farm and foraging practices.”
Karli Storm (Indiana University Bloomington) was in Finland undertaking doctoral research in a unique new program on “Russia in Europe” at the University of Eastern Finland. Her Roth-Thomson award allowed her to present her research on national language policies and political stability at international conferences in Finland and Russia.
Project on architectural means to improve concert hall design, conducted at Aalto University. Robinson’s Roth Ednowment award enabled him to travel to undertake research into the acoustical properties of historic Finnish churches. He is at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.