Good fellows

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Tags: awards and prizes, international, winter-2012

UQ American Australian Association fellows Fiona Soper (left) and Samantha Duncan receive their awards in New York

The American Australian Association (AAA) has awarded fellowships to two UQ postgraduates to undertake innovative and advanced research in the United States.

The AAA was founded in 1948 by Sir Keith Murdoch and is a non-profit organisation devoted to strengthening relations between the two countries.

UQ postgraduates Samantha Duncan and Fiona Soper were awarded the fellowships at the AAA’s Benefit Dinner in New York City in November last year.

Ms Duncan was awarded a Westfield Fellowship and will undertake research on sustainable development in emerging markets at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington DC.

“My research project focuses on promoting access to finance for small to medium-sized enterprises (SME) in developing regions,” Ms Duncan said.

“SMEs can provide opportunities for home-grown job creation that can translate into sustainable opportunities for economic growth of the people in developing countries.”

“The AAA fellowship has opened up a huge network of people I can connect and discuss my ideas with, and helped with the costs of living and studying in the US, where the international development industry is arguably the biggest in the world.”

Ms Soper was awarded the Alcoa Foundation Fellowship and will be heading to Cornell University.

“My research will investigate plant traits that enable the encroachment of trees into grazing lands and aims to contribute to better understanding and management of this widespread ecological issue,” Ms Soper said.

“The fellowship will allow me to spend time working at my field site in Texas and further develop a collaboration between Cornell University and Texas A&M University.”

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International) Dr Anna Ciccarelli said the University was committed to encouraging and supporting research collaboration and commercialisation in the US, through fostering student exchange and rallying the support of the University’s alumni and friends in the region.

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