2026 Newman Exploration Travel Award Winners

WashU Libraries are thrilled to announce the winners of this 12 months’s Newman Exploration Travel Fund Award.

The NEXT Award program is meant to help Washington University college students, school, and employees who want to discover this huge world. Travel is a valued technique of increasing one’s horizons and provoking progress, excellence, and innovation whereas pursuing each private {and professional} objectives.

Nine candidates gained the 2026 NEXT awards. Awardees embody undergraduate and graduate college students, school, and employees members.

Viktoriia Knyaz is pursuing a level in structure on the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. She will journey to main cities within the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland to look at postwar reconstruction and long-term housing techniques in these nations, with the objective of figuring out methods for Ukraine’s ongoing restoration.

Ingrid Lyons-Carlson, a biology main within the College of Arts & Sciences, will journey to Fiji and New Zealand to see birds and threatened invertebrates of their native habitats and go to main conservation organizations to study extra about conservation efforts and schooling.

Sumit Gupta, a PhD scholar in Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, will journey to Britain, France, and Switzerland to discover archives associated to Buddhism and spend time at European Buddhist monasteries to achieve an understanding of contemplative breath practices.

Judith Mwobobia, a PhD scholar within the School of Public Health, will journey throughout the United States (Maryland, Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, Georgia) to pursue the craft of storytelling by spending time with African immigrant households, sharing meals, and listening to their tales.

Janice Tania, a PhD scholar in biomedical engineering, will journey to Japan and Sri Lanka to discover entry to medical and nuclear imaging in Asian nations.

John Early, a senior lecturer within the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, will journey to France to attend an artist residency and conduct cross-cultural analysis to additional his work with Whereas Hoops, an ongoing community-based mission addressing problems with race and fairness within the leisure basketball panorama of St. Louis City.

Ralf Wessel, professor of physics, will journey to Italy to deepen his understanding of mosaic artwork at its historic origins and its modern follow, which is able to help his tutorial work on the intersection of neuroscience, computation, and aesthetics.

Meredith Kelling, assistant director for scholar analysis and engagement on the Center for the Humanities, will journey to Minnesota and California to discover and analysis archives, libraries, and private and cultural networks associated to writer, poet, and activist Meridel Le Seuer.

KC Kupperman, communications coordinator in University Advancement, will journey to Italy to go to museums and historic websites and study extra concerning the materials tradition of historic Rome.