Fall 2025 Grant Recipients
Research Grants:
Emily Morgan, Associate Professor, Art and Visual Culture
Between 1920 and 1970, American industries grew, collectively, into an international corporate force of extraordinary power. To do this, they depended on massive workforces, composed of workers from the highly-skilled to the unskilled; across education levels, walks of life, and creeds. The fortunes of industry and labor were inextricably intertwined, but their values often were at odds.
Seeking to advance their causes and goals, both industries and labor organizations deployed photography. Industry used photography to make the case for the desirability and wondrousness of a world operating at massive scale. Labor’s representations of industrial production, by contrast, often emphasize the perspectives and contributions of individual workers. This book project, Photographers Between Labor and Capital, will consider several photographers who worked in, with, and for American industries and labor organizations during the mid-twentieth century.
Focusing on the city of Chicago as a center of American industry, the book will examine the work of four Chicago-based photographers: Arthur Siegel, a modernist art photographer who also took commissions from American industry; Mickey Pallas, a former labor organizer who worked for both industry and labor organizations; Jo Banks, a little-known studio and commercial photographer who worked on commission for labor organizations; and Leslie Orear, a meatpacking worker, labor organizer, journalist, and photographer. Photographers Between Labor and Capital will consider how each of these photographers used the medium to offer a singular vision of American work and enterprise in the mid-twentieth century.
Rachel Meyers, Associate Professor, World Language and Cultures
Marble statues were ubiquitous both in Rome and in hundreds of cities around the Roman Empire. They mainly portrayed leaders, local notables, and other elite. Since statues were embedded in the fabric of daily life – they lined the porticoes on the way to the market, they decorated the backdrop of the theater, they framed the council halls and law courts – they shaped the lived experiences of thousands of people over time.
Using an innovative approach to studying them, these statues can yield knowledge not only about the identity of those 
portrayed but also about the socio-political landscape of a place. By combining examination of the portraits, statues, and pedestals with their original display contexts and how these civic spaces changed over time through the construction of buildings and additions of statuary galleries, we can reveal aspects of ancient society not previously considered. Subtle cues inform us about interpersonal relationships and power dynamics among residents in a town and between individuals and the rulers. Though on the western edge of the empire, the provinces on the Iberian Peninsula were important with regards to their historical development and cultural contributions. This project focuses on the statues that once lined the central streets and buildings of ancient Tarraco. It represents one chapter of a book manuscript, Display and Dedication in Roman Hispania, which examines these visual representations as a way of understanding the disparate identities of the Iberian Peninsula in the Roman Empire.
Digital Scholarship Research Grants:
Jonathan Sharp, Associate Professor, Music and Theatre
“Between 0 and 1: Sonic Synergy of Acoustic Drumset and Live Electronics“ pioneers a new path for the solo percussionist in the everchanging world of contemporary music. This project consists of the creation of a fully electroacoustic solo recital for drumset with a cross-platform approach, fusing acoustic instruments with electronic elements (microphones and computers) for live processing. This hybrid forges a new path for the solo percussionist and drumset artist in the concert hall. Within this project, Jonathan Sharp will c
ompose a new musical piece for solo drumset, incorporating live electronic treatment using Sensory Percussion triggers to explore innovative rhythmic and sonic possibilities.
The grant will fund the purchase of Sensory Percussion triggers, drumset microphones, and accessories necessary for the project's execution. Jonathan will explore new possibilities and applications of the Sensory Percussion triggers to allow for live interaction of a computer with the acoustic playing on the drums. The performer and the computer create a collaborative interaction in real time during live performance of the recital. Dr. Sharp will use his explorative findings from this project to produce a scholarly article on effective approaches to performing electroacoustic works for drumset. Jonathan will present the recital’s repertoire at various universities and at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy, exposing music performers and scholars to state-of-the-art electroacoustic performance methods.
Symposium Grants:
Carol A. Chapelle, Distinguished Professor, English & Rochelle Zuck, Associate Professor, English
The Constructed Agents Symposium provides a forum for exploring how humans develop their understanding the role of AI agents from their exposure to representations of agents in literature, film, and language learning tools. The symposium will be held concurrently with the annual Technology for Second Language Conference (TSLL) which for the past two years has attracted dozens of researchers from around the world to share their investigations of generative artificial intelligence used in language learning. The combined Constructed Agents Symposium and TSLL Conference merge humanities research on literature and film with the observations and findings from applied linguistics research investigating language learners use of AI agents. As AI agents become
increasingly available to learners, their past exposure to the non-human sentient agents of literature and film is likely to shape learners’ view of today’s language-using AI agents available for language support.
The two-day symposium will begin with a day of sessions focusing on representations of non-human sentient beings in literature and film and how they inform contemporary understandings of human-machine interaction. The second day will present papers investigating language learners’ understanding of the roles of and their relationships with AI agents for language support. A roundtable will address opportunities for collaboration between humanities and applied linguistics researchers on these topics. The symposium will feature invited speakers who will present public lectures, panels featuring ISU researchers and scholars from outside ISU, and workshops related to AI. A volume of selected papers from the symposium is planned.
Alenka Poplin, Associate Professor, Urban Planning and Development
The 3rd Geogames Symposium (3GGS) provides an international forum for researchers, developers, and game enthusiasts to present, exchange, and advance knowledge in the field of geogames. The main focus of this symposium is “Games and Pla
y for a Better World” considering games as art and an alternative media for expression and exploration. The symposium concentrates on serious games or games with impact that are created for more than just fun and enjoyment. They may address real-world problems, concentrate on understanding and analyzing these problems, providing game-based and playful environments for their exploration and finding solutions.
The symposium examines the potential of analogue and digital geogames as catalysts for understanding and transforming communities, environments, and societal practices. This year’s theme focuses on the role of geogames in fostering awareness, responsibility, and care for planet Earth. It highlights how geogames can be employed to explore Earth as a complex, living system of interdependent actors and self-regulating processes, thereby inspiring more sustainable ways of living and informing the reshaping of human–environment
interactions. The main goals of the symposium are to explore how geogames can strengthen community engagement and social cohesion; contribute meaningfully to a just, resilient, and regenerative world; inspire creative, playful solutions for local and global challenges; raise environmental awareness and encourage positive changes and enable to visualize and interact with real-world data integrated in games.
Patrick Finley, Assistant Professor, Graphic Design
The Spectrum of Entrepreneurship is a two-day symposium showcasing the vital role of design, planning, and the arts in advancing civic engagement and entrepreneurship. Building on recent College of Design iFellow projects—including Austin Dunn’s (Landscape Architecture) Civic Hydrology, Rob Pfaff’s (Community and Regional Planning) Rhetoric and Regional Community, Patrick Finley’s (Graphic Design) Design/Shift design-a-thon, and Anna Segner’s (Art and Visual Culture) Murals in Iowa Communities—the symposium highlights how design-driven practices foster innovation, solve community challenges, and strengthen civic life across Iowa and beyond.
Organized around four themes—infrastructure, public art, policy and planning, and philanthropy—the event convenes le
aders from academia and professional practice, including Johnathan Strube (Assistant Professor of Graphic Design, East Tennessee State University), Ernie Wong (Site Design Group, Ltd., Chicago), Louise Jones (Ouizi Studio, Detroit), and Jerome A. Horne (TransitCenter, New York City). Through keynote talks, panel discussions, and hands-on workshops, participants will explore how interdisciplinary design thinking and entrepreneurship catalyze civic transformation and equitable innovation.
The symposium advances Iowa State University’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship portfolio by positioning design as a catalyst for problem-solving, entrepreneurship, and community building. Faculty will gain opportunities for research collaboration and visibility; students will receive mentorship, applied learning experiences, and professional networks; and community partners will leave with strategies and resources to amplify their work.
By weaving together scholarship, pedagogy, and community engagement, the Spectrum of Entrepreneurship Symposium affirms ISU’s leadership in shaping innovative, equity-driven, and sustainable approaches to design and civic engagement.