UWM Professor Wins Fulbright Award
Architecture Prof Arijit Sen, who works with students on research of overlooked neighborhoods, will travel to India.
Arijit Sen. Photo from the UW System.
UW-Milwaukee associate professor of architecture Arijit Sen has taken architecture far beyond the classroom with his Buildings-Landscapes-Cultures field school program.
Students conduct intensive surveys of a specific neighborhood, including engaging with residents to learn their stories.
The stories of those that live in the neighborhood along with the details of the built environment then take a number of forms. Students respond to neighborhood needs by building things like raised garden beds and benches, but they also seek to tell and record the story of those in the neighborhood.
In 2018, Sen hosted Picturing Milwaukee: Sherman Park at City Hall, which featured everything everything from a play telling the area’s cultural history to a panel with neighborhood stakeholders to a website featuring audio interviews.
The BLC field school has examined the Thurston Woods, Washington Park, Sherman Park and Historic Water Tower neighborhoods. Now Sen will lead a field school on the other side of the globe.
Sen received a Fulbright scholarship to teach for a year at the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kerala in India.
Working in Calicut, India (also known as Kozhikode), Sen will work with university students and scholars to develop a curriculum around vernacular architecture documentation and community engagement.
“We are extremely proud of Associate Professor Sen’s work and recognition through a Fulbright award,” said UWM Chancellor Mark A. Mone in a statement. “This honor reflects the excellence of our faculty and the impact of international engagement.”
The federally-sponsored Fulbright provides grants for approximately 800 United States citizens every year to conduct research or teach abroad in over 160 countries.
“Faculty who are immersed in the Fulbright experience are a special asset to our students who gain unique international perspectives,” Mone added. “Dr. Sen is dedicated to creating models of instruction that introduce students to diverse racial, ethnic, global, economic and cultural experiences.”
Sen was born and raised in India, but has lived in the United States for over three decades. He holds a Ph.D. in architecture from the University of California, a master’s degree from Iowa State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bombay.
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