Funding Opportunities

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Study Center at UB, in conjunction with the Department of Geography and Asian Studies Program at the College of Arts and Sciences, invites proposals for funding from scholars and students affiliated with any department or academic program at UB to support research related to the Southeast Asia region. Nila T. Gnamm received a BS in Philosophy and an MA in School Administration and Supervision from the University at Buffalo. Ms. Gnamm was employed by the Buffalo Board of Education and Police Department and traveled to many countries in Asia, Latin America and Europe.

Small grants between $500 and $1,500 will be awarded for expenses related to travel, per diem, conference fees, library research, data collection and other research costs. Funding could also support visiting scholars, conference presentations, workshops, lectures and similar scholarly activity at UB that is related to the research of a faculty member or graduate student. It is possible that funding may be available for grants of up to $2000 but justification for this will need to be established. The award period covers activities that take place during the period September 1, 2026 through August 30, 2027.

In accordance with the Gnamm bequest, preference for funding will be given to: (1) proposals from junior faculty whose research focuses on Southeast Asia; (2) proposals of UB graduate students from Southeast Asia whose dissertation research focuses on their home countries; application in this category must be accompanied by a letter from the student’s dissertation advisor verifying that the student is at thesis or dissertation-writing stage of the graduate program, (3) research or academic projects that relate to quality-of-life issues in the region, and (4) initiatives conducted in or related to Southeast Asia.

An interested faculty member or graduate student should submit a proposal with the following guidelines:

1. The proposal should contain: (i) Name, title, department, affiliation, email, (ii) project/activity title, (iii) objective and summary of project/activity, (iv) work plan, expected outputs, and impact (not to exceed 1200 words), (v) other on-going applications and cost-sharing. The project should include 1 short paragraph that informs about the stage of the research under consideration. It should not exceed 1000 words.
2. If the applicant is a post-doc/graduate or professional student, please provide a letter from a UB academic advisor that: (a) indicates the student’s status and stage of the thesis project, and (b) evaluates the merit of the research or project.
3. Itemize budget in a table. The budget must specify clearly how and when the Gnamm funding is to be used. The table should include a time schedule, type and cost of research resources (books, journals, database, equipment, etc.), mode and cost of travel, cost of lodging per night or for the proposed period, per diem, and conference registration fee. For conferences, it is unlikely that expenses beyond three days will be covered.
4. If you are applying to other sources of funding or/and cost-sharing funding, that information should be provided.
5. Curriculum vitae (not to exceed 2 pages)
6. A letter from the department endorsing the application.

Applications that fail to follow the above guidelines may not be considered. Applicants are asked to submit a single word or pdf file with all proposal materials included to: Professor Jessie Poon, Department of Geography, email: jesspoon@buffalo.edu.

October 30, 2026.