Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Sarah Mills, Linda J. Hanes

Study Abroad Alumni

Orphanages in Panama are overflowing with kids wishing they had homes and a loving family, and often there’s an unmet need for a creative outlet for these atrisk children. One WMU student spent her summer to help rectify that situation through teaching orphaned children about expression through movement.

Leon Sun, Linda Hanes

International Faculty Researchers

Living and working in two countries provided a cultural contrast that has greatly inspired and influenced the art and design of Yuanliang (Leon) Sun, an associate professor of art at Western Michigan University.

Patrick Wilson, Christine Lena

International Faculty Researchers

New urban developments in the growing city of Chongqing, China have captured the imagination of Artist Patrick D. Wilson, a Western Michigan University assistant professor of sculpture and integrated media, whose art work is often influenced by architectural imagery.

Martha Councell-Vargas, Christine Lena

International Faculty Researchers

Travelling to Central America in college is all it took to inspire Martha Councell-Vargas to begin a career of teaching, researching, and performing flute music of the Americas.

Vikram Hemanathan, Linda J. Hanes

International Alumni

When Vikram Hemanathan came to Western Michigan University in 2006, he initially planned for an engineer’s life of logic and analytics, but a lifelong love of the theater became his greater calling.

Alexander Cannon, Carol Barber

International Faculty Researchers

A chance introduction to a largely unknown genre of Vietnamese royal court music that Dr. Alexander Cannon experienced while majoring in economics and music as an undergraduate forged an interest that changed the trajectory of his intended career path from analyzing economic trends to becoming an ethnomusicologist and an expert on don ca tai tu.

Ed Roth, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

Can listening to and making music be effectively used in the treatment of people diagnosed with neurologic and psychiatric disorders? This is the primary question Professor Ed Roth, director of WMU’s music therapy program, is attempting to answer in collaboration with colleagues from around the world to improve treatment for people experiencing post-traumatic stress and other acute anxiety disorders. He is a co-founder and director of WMU’s Laboratory for Brain Research and Interdisciplinary Neurosciences (BRAIN) (article) and a Fellow in the Academy of Neurologic Music Therapists, who specializes in the application of music in the treatment of neurologic disorders and …

Wmu International News Fall 2015, Haenicke Institute

WMU International News

• Internationalizing the arts
• Friends from Kurdistan find musical home at Western
• 5 Music lessons from South Vietnam
• Note taken on this WMU trombonist on an international stage
• Flutist composer coins new genre, Universal Americanism
• Music WMU professor takes worldly approach in researching the healing power of music
• Dominican Republic art calloborative brings interactive exhibit to WMU
• Cross-cultural graphic designer and artist conjoins east and west technology and creativity
• Coupling art and architecture opens doors to China for WMU professor
• Book Arts in Venice study abroad program
• Engineering alumnus masters theater in India
• Dancer becomes vehicle for social change in Panama

Wmu International News Summer 2015, Haenicke Institute

WMU International News

• Bronco Athletics and Hall of Famers
• World Cup play preps Colombian for Bronco pitch
• Midfielder from Seville finds home on Bronco pitch
• Top-ranking Chilean a pro on and off the courtX
• Champion is the name and aim for this Bronco golfer
• Former NHL coach and international hall of famer leads Bronco Hockey
• Coaches worldwide keeping an eye on this German
• Freshman forward already signed to NHL’s Oilers
• Canadian gold medalist now a Bronco V-baller
• European standout takes the court at WMU
• Nationally ranked Croatian chooses WMU for education and athletics
• Seven-foot Senegalese center ready to dominate Bronco basketball

Steve Durbin, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

For a researcher at a globally engaged university, international collaboration comes naturally. When Dr. Steve Durbin, professor and chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to explore the synthesis and characterization of a new semiconductor (ZnSnN2) comprised solely of earth-abundant elements, he and his students embarked on this project with partners in the United Kingdom, Finland, and New Zealand, as well as Colorado, Michigan and Florida.

Deepak Ravindra, Margaret Von Steinen

International Alumni

Dr. Deepak Ravindra became a business owner at the same time he completed his Western Michigan University doctoral degree through a unique collaboration with a faculty researcher focused on developing methods to cut extremely hard and brittle materials.

Sudesh Woodiga, Linda Hanes

International Alumni

Holder of three degrees from Western Michigan University— bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate—alumnus Sudesh Woodiga has achieved much success as an aerodynamics engineer at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Mich.

Rajesh Voddiraju, Margaret Von Steinen

International Alumni

Serial entrepreneur and angel investor are two labels that describe the significant contributions WMU alumnus Rajesh Voddiraju, a native of Hyderabad, India, has made to the computer science industry since completing his master’s degree at Western Michigan University in 1993. He was honored in October 2014 by WMU’s Department of Computer Science when he was selected as the recipient of the department’s annual Computer Science Alumni Excellence Award.

Ala Al-Fuqaha, Margaret Von Steinen

International Faculty Researchers

A wide range of road safety and driver assistive applications— Intelligent Transport Systems—could result from a collaborative research project that Dr. Ala Al-Fuqaha, WMU professor of computer science, is working on with Dr. Elyes Hamida at the Qatar Mobility Innovation Center and Dr. Bharat Bhargava at Purdue University.

Wmu International News Spring 2015, Haenicke Institute

WMU International News

• New sensor to monitor impacts on the gridiron
• Dominican Republic Ph.D. candidate a leader in green manufacturing at WMU
• Delivering fuel efficiency and reduced emissions key for Ford engineer
• Electrical engineer seeks new semiconductor for optoelectronics
• Improving communication systems drives computer science researcher
• CEAS alumnus improves health care commerce
• Degree research evolves into new company for WMU alumnus
• Roundabout ways to improve transportation captivate Tanzanian fellow
• Raspberry Pi focus of undergraduate research project
• Comparative learning key in WMU’s Engineering in China program
• ESL courses first step for future Congolese engineer