Dear Colleagues,
The CUNY Northern Science and Education Center has just been informed
that our UK collaborators in the North Atlantic Biocultural Organization
(NABO) have been successful in a major grant competition sponsored by
the Leverhulme Trust, a private, UK funding source based on the Lever
group of companies. Over 300 UK investigators competed, and the North
Atlantic program was one of two selected for funding with a budget close
to $2 million. CUNY is the only non-UK institution to participate as a
co-applicant. The result for CUNY will be significant UK support for
CUNY students and for the Hunter and Brooklyn Zooarchaeology
laboratories over a five-year period beginning summer 2002. The joint
press release follows:
"Vikings in The North Atlantic - CUNY Shares in Major Award"
City University of New York (Hunter College, Brooklyn College, Graduate
Center) is to receive substantial funding for an innovative
interdisciplinary research program titled "Landscapes circa Landnam." A
grant for approximately U.S. $1.9 million has been awarded by the
Leverhulme Trust to the University of Aberdeen Northern Studies Centre,
and Dr. Thomas McGovern (Hunter Anthropology) and Dr. Sophia Perdikaris
(Brooklyn Anthropology) are co-applicants. The grant will fund an
investigation into the human and ecological consequences of Viking
settlement in the North Atlantic region (the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and
Greenland).
Dr. McGovern writes: 'This magnificent level of support from the
Leverhulme Trust will enable a high-resolution and comprehensive
investigation of what happens environmentally and socially when a group
of people - in this case the Vikings - colonize 'pristine' landscapes.
Using the fossil evidence preserved in natural and archaeological
occupation deposits, together with historical documents, we have an
unrivaled opportunity to examine the long-term effects of settlement in
environmentally sensitive areas'.
The five-year, multi-institution study will involve collaboration with
Prof. Kevin Edwards (University of Aberdeen, Principal Investigator),
Prof. Paul Buckland (University of Sheffield), Dr. Ian Simpson
(University of Stirling), Prof. Thomas McGovern, Dr. Sophia Perdikaris
(City University of New York) and Dr. Gudrun Sveinbjarnardottir
(University College London/National Museum of Iceland). The study will
involve work by researchers from 12 disciplines in 10 countries.
The award from the Leverhulme Trust, within the theme 'Long-term
settlement in the ancient world', resulted from a UK-wide competition.
Further information and Notes to Editors:
The Research Program grants have been devised by the Leverhulme Trust
to 'invest substantial funds in a number of cutting edge areas of
research in addition to its existing schemes'. The Trust has supported
archaeological and social science projects in the past, but this is its
largest grant to date.The Aberdeen Northern Studies Centre was recently set up by the
University of Aberdeen and partner institutions in the Aberdeen Research
Consortium as a 'centre of excellence for studies of the environment and
people of northern areas'. It is the UK national coordinating center for
NABO and a close collaborator with the CUNY Northern Science and
Education Center.The CUNY Northern Science and Education Center is a multi-campus CUNY
program (Graduate Center, Hunter, Brooklyn, Staten Island, John Jay) now
under rapid development. Major grants from the U.S. National Science
Foundation (Arctic Social Sciences Office of Polar Programs, and
Anthropology) to Dr.s Perdikaris, Sider, and McGovern in 1999-2001
topped $600,000 and have allowed CUNY undergraduates and graduate
students to actively participate in northern field research and
participate in real-time international video courses given
simultaneously in the UK and NYC.
Sincerely,
Thomas H. McGovern, Prof.
Bioarchaeology Laboratory
Anthropology Department
Hunter College of the City University of New York
695 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021 USA
tel: 212/772-5410
fax: 212/772-5423
nabo [at] voicenet.com
For more information about CUNY, see their web site at:
http://www.cuny.edu
For more information about NABO and its programs, see their web site at:
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/nabo/
For more information on the Leverhulme Trust, its grants and
fellowships, see their web site at:
http://www.leverhulme.org.uk/