Originally posted: 2010<\/p>\n
The University of Ottawa recently welcomed three outstanding visiting scholars from the United States thanks to the Canada-US Fulbright Program and the Killam Research Fellowship Program. During their stay at the University, Daniel Cahoy, Karen Lillie and Adam Tanga will contribute valuable skills and insights to their respective field through their research, guest lectures and student and faculty collaborations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very pleased and proud to welcome these three outstanding scholars at the University of Ottawa,\u201d says Ruby Heap, an associate vice-president of research, former Fulbright Scholar at Atlanta\u2019s Georgia Institute of Technology and former Fulbright Visiting Chair in Canadian Studies at Kennesaw State University. \u201cTheir research activities will undoubtedly foster future collaborations and partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both the Fulbright and Killam programs recognize excellence among graduate students, professors and professionals from Canada and the United States. The mandate of the Fulbright Program is to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of Canada and the United States by supporting outstanding graduate students, faculty, professionals and independent researchers. In more than 150 countries worldwide, the program has long been regarded as the premiere academic exchange program and a signature honour for scholars.<\/p>\n
Modeled much like the Fulbright award, the Canada Council for the Arts\u2019 Killam research fellowships are likewise among the most prestigious fellowships in Canada. Recipients, chosen by a committee comprising eminent scientists and scholars, are given the unique opportunity to focus on their research on a full-time basis for two years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe presence of these star academics on our campus illustrates the cutting-edge research conducted by our faculty in the recipients\u2019 respective field of study,\u201d says Heap. \u201cWhat is particularly exciting is that our visiting scholars this year include a seasoned researcher as well as a graduate and undergraduate student.\u201d<\/p>\n
Daniel Cahoy is the Fulbright Visiting Chair in International Humanitarian Law. As an associate professor of business law at the Smeal College of Business at Pennsylvania State University, he specializes in the teaching and study of intellectual property law, as well as related issues in technology law and general business law concepts. He has published numerous articles in academic law journals on topics such as intellectual property and alternative energy policy, reform of the U.S. patent system and the use of experimental economics to improve jury studies.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always had an interest in the practical applications of my research and how other fields inform it,\u201d says Cahoy. \u201cAs an intellectual property law academic, I have spent quite a bit of time researching the relationship between patents and socially important goods. In no other context is this relationship more important than access to essential medicines in the developing world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cahoy explains that he has become keenly interested in stepping outside of the traditional scope of legal analysis on this topic and combining work in the field of human rights to create potentially more workable solutions to the problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause Canada has a widely recognized legal regime to facilitate the export of pharmaceuticals to developing countries, I have always desired to study this topic here, and contrast the environment to that in the United States,\u201d he insists. \u201cWhen the opportunity to work with uOttawa\u2019s internationally known human rights and technology law faculty members through a Fulbright grant arose, I was extremely pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the fall 2009 semester, Cahoy is associated with uOttawa\u2019s Human Rights Research and Education Centre. He says he is excited about working with the Centre for numerous reasons, not the least of which is its privileged association with a law faculty that is rooted in both civil and common law traditions, as well as its proximity to government departments and agencies, teaching institutions, non-government and non-profit organizations in his field.<\/p>\n
However, Cahoy says he is most looking forward to immersing himself and his family in the bilingual culture of Canada\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis city is home to many institutions that embody Canadian heritage, and I have already had the opportunity to learn a lot in the short time I\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Karen Lillie, who hails from Princeton University, is a Fulbright Fellow in anthropology. By combining research interests in infectious diseases, medical anthropology and inequalities in matters of health, Lillie hopes to learn more about how on-the-ground understanding can inform policy decisions and ultimately improve health outcomes. \u201cWhile the United States is trying to restructure its health care system, a grasp on how policy works is especially important now,\u201d she says. \u201cI also intend to start medical school in the fall of 2010 and hope that this experience at the University of Ottawa will make me a better doctor, one who has a greater understanding of various populations and diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n
While at the University of Ottawa, Lillie will endeavour to understand how the First Nations people of Canada\u2014whom she feels are often marginalized and denied a voice in the majority population\u2014perceive and manage their growing rate of infection with tuberculosis.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope to speak with patients, physicians and policy makers regarding treatment of this Third World disease in a \u2018first world\u2019 nation,\u201d she explains. \u201cHopefully this research will also help build connections between the U.S. and Canada. Since disease doesn\u2019t recognize borders, it is important for the two nations to work together on public health issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lillie sees her year at uOttawa as an opportunity to further solidify her goal of building a lifelong relationship with Canada. \u201cIn addition to my research goals, I will strive to learn as much as I can about First Nations people, Ottawa and the Canadian healthcare system.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adam Tanga, a Killam Research Fellow studying political science with a minor in French at the University of Washington, is similarly hoping to take advantage of the capital\u2019s bilingual culture to improve his French. \u201cI will take back home a new outlook on Canada as a dynamic nation that has a proud cultural heritage, has contributed much to the world and merits much respect as a place for higher learning and as a field of study,\u201d he says. \u201cAcademic exchange between the United States and Canada should be supported and increased especially through the Killam Fellowship Program. It\u2019s an experience every student should consider.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tanga is particularly interested in Canadian-U.S. relations and parliamentary democracy and will no doubt benefit from the expertise found at the Institute for Canadian Studies to enhance his knowledge of how Canada and the U.S. relate to one another in a cultural, political and historical context.<\/p>\n
Giving much credit to his teachers in Hawaii, Tanga admits his interest in politics began at an early age. \u201cLearning about Hawaiian history introduced me to the power of geopolitics and globalization,\u201d he explains. \u201cWhat\u2019s more, legal challenges involving my school and debate about native Hawaiians\u2019 status vis-\u00e0-vis the federal government were very heated while I was in high school. It was my first real exposure to politics in action, and I have been hooked ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Originally posted: 2010 The University of Ottawa recently welcomed three outstanding visiting scholars from the United States thanks to the Canada-US Fulbright Program and the Killam Research Fellowship Program. During their stay at the University, Daniel Cahoy, Karen Lillie and Adam Tanga will contribute valuable skills and insights to their respective field through their research,<\/p>\n