2023 Lemann Brazil Research Fund awardees announced

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research and the Office of the Vice Provost for International Affairs are pleased to announce the results of the 2023 competition for awards from the Lemann Brazil Research Fund.

“We were once again greatly impressed with the strength of the applicants, who represent diverse areas of scholarship across our campus and with partners in Brazil,” said John Shaw, vice provost for research and Harry C. Dudley Professor of Structural and Economic Geology and professor of environmental science and engineering.

Highlighting the importance of the Lemann Brazil Research Fund, Vice Provost for International Affairs and Mark Schwartz Professor of Chinese and Inner Asian History Mark Elliott said, “I am delighted to continue to see this exciting program for international research flourish. Our generous donors enable faculty to further Harvard’s research collaborations in Brazil.”

Established in 2016 by a generous gift from the Lemann Foundation, the Lemann Brazil Research Fund supports Brazil-related research in all areas related to education, as well as research in any other disciplinary area undertaken with a Brazilian colleague.

This year’s awarded projects

“Algorithmic Fairness in Brazilian Education” by Flavio Calmon, assistant professor of electrical engineering at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, with collaborators Seiji Isotani (University of São Paulo; Harvard Graduate School of Education); and Ig Ibert Bittencourt (Federal University of Alagoas; Harvard Graduate School of Education).

“How to Make Brazilian Cities Greener: Greening Cities Across Six Biomes” by Gareth Doherty, associate professor of landscape architecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, with collaborators Francesca Benedetto (Harvard Graduate School of Design); Bruno Carvalho (Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences); Washington Fajardo (independent scholar); Carlos Leite (Mackenzie Presbyterian University); Jorge Abrahao (Sustainable Cities Institute); and Elena Geppetti (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro).

“Shifting Political Terrain in Brazil’s New Republic: Place, Class, and Vote Choice” by Elizabeth McKenna ’08, assistant professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School, with collaborators Ana Rodrigues Cavalcanti Alves (Federal University of Bahia); Rafael Cardoso Sampaio (Federal University of Paraná); Claudio Tadeu Cristino (Federal Rural University of Pernambuco); Esther Solano Gallego (Federal University of São Paulo); Helena Lúcia Zagury Tourinho (University of the Amazon); Helena d’Agosto Miguel Fonseca (Federal University of Minas Gerais); Luciano Muniz Abreu (Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro); Matthew Richmond (London School of Economics and Political Science); Ricardo Paiva (Federal University of Ceará); Sandra Catharinne Pantaleão Resende (Pontifical Catholic University of Goiás); and Sérgio Simoni Junior (Federal Rural University of Rio Grande do Sul).

“Co-Constructing Learning in the Classroom: The Influence of Venezuelan Migration on Brazilian and Venezuelan Children’s Experiences of Education in Boa Vista” by Gabrielle Oliveira, Jorge Paulo Lemann associate professor of education and Brazil studies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, with collaborator Leila Baptaglin (Federal University of Roraima).

“Tracking the Rise of the Earliest Animals During the Cambrian Explosion – a Brazilian Perspective from the Global South” by Javier Ortega-Hernandez, assistant professor of organismic and evolutionary biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, with collaborators Lucas Del Mouro (University of São Paulo); Milene Freitas Figueiredo (Petrobras); Silane Silva Caminha (Federal University of Mato Grosso); and Ezequiel Galvão (Federal University of Pampa).