Events Calendar

The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies welcomes campus artists, humanities scholars, and researchers in the sciences and social sciences to imagine the many ways that our campus and connected spaces might serve as a “living laboratory” for environmental research.

The Design Workshop for Environmental Studies Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration is part of our Spring 2024 initiative, Envisioning Interdisciplinary Environmental Research. Part of what makes this initiative special is the possibilities for radical collaborations across disciplines and an emphasis on environmental justice. The Design Workshop will take place on April 12, 2024, and will prepare teams of 1–5 artists, scholars, and researchers interested in designing environmental research projects that use the University of Iowa campus and surrounding community as a “living lab” for environmental research. We especially welcome teams of people who are already collaborating. During the workshop, teams will develop cross-disciplinary research and/or teaching projects that engage with the physical space of the campus (and by extension river, marshland, prairie, and surrounding urban environment). The larger goal is to prototype collaborative environmental research projects for the public good. An added benefit of this workshop is that participants will learn a design-thinking approach that they can take to all future projects. Each team will leave with a draft proposal for a research grant, a course, or a campus-community project.

The workshop will be led by Lesley-Ann Noel, professor of design at North Carolina State University. Professor Noel practices design through emancipatory and critical lenses, focusing on equity, social justice, and the experiences of people who are often excluded from design research, especially in educational settings.

Please note that teams may include 1–5 people, and one person on your team must be a faculty member with significant research responsibilities. Each team member awarded will receive a taxable $200 honorarium. 

Read more and apply at https://obermann.uiowa.edu/design-workshop-environmental-studies-cross-d.... Applications are due Feb. 27 by 5 p.m.

Series events are hosted by the UI Obermann Center for Advanced Studies and generously co-sponsored by the Office of the Vice President for Research.