Wildcats Around the Globe

Guitar Virtuoso, Amsterdam: In July senior classical guitarist Marisa Sardo performed her favorite piece, Johann Kaspar Mertz’s Tarantella, on the classical guitar at Mozarteum University’s Wiener Saal in Salzburg. Days later she performed at the Concertgebouw’s Kleine Zaal in Amsterdam. Sardo showcased her talent after winning first prize in the senior age category (19 and above) of the Grand Prize Virtuoso International Music Competition. 

Climate Cores, Greenland: Pete Puleo ’19, an incoming doctoral student, collected sediment cores from island lakes in southern Greenland as part of Earth and planetary sciences professor Yarrow Axford’s mid-July to mid-August research trip. The samples will be used in coming years to examine climate change over the past 15,000 years with a focus on abrupt climate events in the south Greenland region.

Music Preservation Podcast, Ghana: In the fall Cesar Almeida ’19, front right, returned to Ghana on a Fulbright to produce a podcast with the University of Ghana. The podcast examines music preservation and monetization, and Almeida hopes to foster dialogue between Ghanaian scholars and musicians. Last year Almeida organized and facilitated a music education workshop in collaboration with Solidarity Studios and the University of Ghana to advance cultural preservation initiatives in Ghana.

Carbon Cycle Study, Australia: Earth and planetary sciences professor Brad Sageman collected samples from a 90 million-year-old lake deposit in Australia to start developing a more complete reconstruction of the global carbon cycle from a high Southern latitude during an ancient hyperthermal period.  Sageman received a Fulbright to support his sabbatical research, which could inform how we respond to current rapid climate change.

Ending Gender-based Violence, Vietnam: Over the summer junior Chloe Wong, above, worked with seniors Vasilia Kavadas and Nefertari Bilal, in Hanoi with the Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment (iSEE) as part of Northwestern’s Global Engagement Studies Institute. They helped create a guidebook to train victim advocates and confidants as part of iSEE’s Building Responsibility and Accountability for Gender-Based Violence Elimination project.