Pardee Center Announces 2023 Graduate Summer Fellows

The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future is pleased to announce its 2023 Graduate Summer Fellows. These eight outstanding Boston University graduate students represent four different schools or colleges and eight different academic departments.

Starting May 30, the Graduate Summer Fellows will spend 10 weeks developing research papers to be considered for publication as part of the Pardee Center’s publication series. In addition, Summer Fellows will participate in programs designed to advance interdisciplinary research and learning with Pardee Center affiliated faculty, visiting researchers, and other invited guests.

The 2023 Graduate Summer Fellows are:

Elinore Avni, GRS, PhD, Sociology Elinore will study the ways in which older adults and children — two dependent population groups — are perceived and taken care of in different countries. She will explore how various factors, such as national context, religious affiliation, age, and gender, shape attitudes toward the provision of eldercare and childcare.

Adham Badawy, GRS, PhD, Earth & Environment Adham will explore the pathways through which the recycling of treated wastewater can be used to manage drought risk for agricultural actors and contribute to climate adaptation measures.

Aarti Bodas, GRS, PhD, Psychology Aarti will qualitatively code and analyze data from the Evolving Minds Project to examine how aspects of classroom discussion may have influenced third graders’ resulting understanding of evolution by natural selection.

Vesta Davis, SSW, MSW, Social Work – Appleton Schneider Fellow* Vesta will explore the intersection of place attachment, ambiguous grief, and nature-based therapies for addressing the mental health needs of refugee communities.

Sophie Lewis, CFA, DMA, Music Education Sophie will critically analyze Divisive Concepts Laws and their impact on cultural preservation in music and wider learning spaces.

Sophie Lieberman, SAR, OTD, Occupational Therapy Sophie will analyze peer recovery coaches’ perspectives of the strengths and barriers to current services for birther-infant dyads impacted by substance use.

Jason Samaroo, GRS, PhD, Biology Jason will investigate the role that microbiology can play in establishing sustainable food systems in remediation of agricultural contributions to changing climatic conditions.

Xuyi Zhao, GRS, PhD, Anthropology Xuyi will study the collective anticipation of crisis and community-building in an emerging urban district in Southwest China, contributing to our reflections on digital surveillance, temporal control, and technologies of urban governance in a post-pandemic world.

More information about the Pardee Center Graduate Summer Fellows Program and previous Summer Fellows can be found here.

*Each year, a master’s or first-year PhD student is designated the Appleton Schneider Fellow in honor of BU Alumnus Appleton Schneider, who provided a bequest to the Pardee Center endowment to support the Graduate Summer Fellows program.