Graduate student researcher Amy Lerner disappeared two months ago and headed south of the border, working on her dissertation with the support of a NSF Human and Social Dynamics grant focusing on maize production in Mexico. The grant brings together UCSB Geographers Stuart Sweeney, Catherine Gautier, and affiliate Hallie Eakin; grad students Frank Davenport, Amy Lerner, and Candida Dewes; as well as Mexican researchers in Mexico City and Chiapas. Since being in Mexico, Amy and her Mexican colleagues have initiated interviews about the maize production system, which will continue throughout the summer and provide crucial information about the diverse factors involved. She has also gathered additional information for her dissertation research about peri-urban growth and maize production outside of Mexico City.

Amy also recently learned that she received a dissertation fellowship from the Inter-American Foundation for her fieldwork in Mexico, allowing an additional 9 months of funding, starting in July. The IAF is funded through the Institute for International Education and supports projects about grassroots and community development research in Latin America. Although this means that Amy will spend less time in Santa Barbara, the additional funding will provide her with more fodder with which to write a stellar dissertation. That said, any free-wheeling geographer should contact her if they are coming down to Mexico in the next year. She would be happy to share her favorite taco stands! Que viva Mexico!

Thanks to Amy for providing this article