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Luce fellowship deadline Oct. 22

Monday, October 22, is this year's deadline for the Luce Scholars Program. Young scholars from a wide variety of intellectual fields will be placed in 10-month internships in selected countries in Asia. The fellowship is aimed for those with no prior experience in the region. Nominees must be American citizens not yet 30 years old on July 1, 2013, and who have earned at least a bachelor's degree or expect to receive one by July 1, 2013. More information.

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Urban resilience: cities coping with violence

Ordinary people show remarkable capacities for coping with and resisting violent actors in some of the world's most dangerous cities, a new study from the Center shows. "Urban Resilience in Situations of Chronic Violence," a two-year undertaking led by former MIT professor Diane Davis and Center executive director John Tirman, examined eight cities to answer questions about what adaptive strategies communities adopt in response to criminal and other forms of persistent violence. The study uncovers new insights into conditions of "positive" resilience, in which communities forge and utilize social relationships within their neighborhoods and negotiate productive relations with city and state officials, police, business leaders, and the like. Not all cities achieve this outcome, however. 

MIT graduate students and researchers from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva spent several weeks doing field research in Johannesburg, Kigali, Managua, Medellín, Mexico City, Nairobi, and São Paolo, with remote research on Karachi, under a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development. The 132-page main report was written by Diane Davis, now professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Design and a CIS Research Affiliate. Davis and Tirman presented findings to USAID and an audience of policy professionals at the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars in July. The study will be discussed in several more forums, emphasizing its utility to practitioners—governments, NGOs, multilateral agencies, and others.

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Turkey's new global activism

CIS organized a three-day workshop in Istanbul, April 12-14, to assess Turkey's new global role and its application of hard and soft power in its region. Hosted by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, the workshop brought together scholars and practitioners from Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Russia, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, including leading Turkish intellectuals and officials. Along with CIS executive director John Tirman, the meeting was shaped by Professor Mario Zucconi (Princeton), Professor Kristin Fabbe (Claremont McKenna), who recently earned a Ph.D. in political science from MIT, and Michael Meier of the Ebert Foundation. Presentations were also made in Ankara to the diplomatic corps, and will be forthcoming in Washington, D.C., Brussels, and Berlin. The workshop prompted considerable coverage in Turkey, and the organizers expect further engagement.

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CIS summer study grant

Doctoral students in international affairs may receive up to $3,000 in summer support for dissertation research on a broad range of global issues. Grants may be requested either for fieldwork and/or archival research, or for home-based research and writeup. The main criteria for determining awards will be the importance of the research question and the quality of the research proposal, and the strength of the letter of support. The deadline for applications is Tuesday, April 3, 2012. More information about the CIS Summer Study Grant. For those applying, read the FAQ.

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IUCIM and CIS honor Sharon Stanton Russell

Sharon Stanton Russell, a mainstay of migration studies at MIT and the Inter-University Committee on International Migration, was honored with a IUCIM symposium and dinner on February 7 at CIS. Russell, who had a long association with the late CIS director Myron Weiner, a leading migration theorist, has been a leader of IUCIM for fifteen years. She has made major contributions to migration studies, including pioneering work on remittances for the World Bank. Among other works, she was co-editor with Weiner of Demography and National Security. Russell has also had long associations with the University of Sussex, the United Nations, and the National Academy of Sciences. The Feb 7 symposium featured presentations by six Committee members: Karen Jacobsen (Tufts), Nazli Choucri (MIT), Robert Lucas (Boston U.), Peggy Levitt (Wellesley), John Harris (Boston U.), and Luise Druke (Harvard Law School). Michael Teitelbaum, another collaborator on cutting edge research with Russell, led a number of accolades at the dinner. 

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MISTI helps empower teachers

Empowering the Teachers is a new project to enable outstanding young Nigerian faculty in science and engineering to collaborate with MIT faculty to develop new curriculum and teaching methods. The program is a collaboration of MISTI and its corporate partners Total and Google. Akintunde Ibitayo Akinwande (featured in photo), professor of electrical engineering and computer science at MIT, is the director.

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CIS remembers Jonathan Tucker

Jonathan B. Tucker, 56, died on July 31, 2011. Jim Walsh, MIT Research Associate, who was a student with Tucker in the Center's Security Studies Program, says "Jonathan was a quiet, kind, and thoughtful person. He was a first-rate scholar, a person who cared deeply about the world, and a wonderful friend and colleague. His passing leaves a terrible void in our community and for me personally." Harvey Sapolsky, MIT Professor Emeritus, wrote a tribute to Tucker.

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Harris named Fulbright Scholar

Tobias Harris, a PhD candidate in the Department of Political Science and a member of the Security Studies Program, will study in Japan as a Fulbright Scholar during the 2011-12 academic year. Harris will conduct interviews and archival research for his project titled "The Politics of Reform in Japan, 1955-2009." He is studying decisions made by Japanese government entities regarding whether and how to undertake reforms, and the factors affecting their success, throughout the country's recent history.

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MIT-France helps advance energy research

MIT President Susan Hockfield and other Institute representatives traveled to Paris for the France-MIT Forum on Energy, an event to advance collaboration between Institute researchers and their French counterparts. The event also marks the 10th anniversary of the MIT-France program. Read more.