2024 Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Faculty Awardees

The Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Faculty Awards

The University of Illinois Chicago’s (UIC) internationalization vision is “to serve the citizens of Chicago and the world by being an international leader in research, scholarship, creative activity, and innovation, and by creating a globally connected campus community which supports faculty, staff, and students as they address the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century.”

By presenting the Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Faculty Award and Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Emerging Leader Faculty Award, UIC recognizes faculty members who have made outstanding contributions to the UIC’s global engagement. Beyond the examples of global engagement specifically listed in the selection criteria, the award seeks to recognize those faculty whose contributions have been made beyond their essential responsibilities as a faculty member. In addition, the award seeks to recognize contributions to global engagement that have a significant impact on students’ development.

The Office of Global Engagement is pleased to announce the 2024 winners of the Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Faculty Award and the Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Emerging Leader Faculty Award.

The 2024 Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Faculty Awardee is Dr. Sanjeev Vidyarthi, Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Planning and Policy

According to Dr. Vidyarthi, he came to UIC in 2008 as an assistant professor, with a fresh dissertation under the arm, hoping to write the account of how India planned its cities (or not) after the country’s independence in 1947. He had arrived at this basic, and hitherto unanswered, question after a decade long successful architectural practice at the Indian city of Jaipur.

UIC provided everything Dr. Vidyarthi needed (and more) to publish 5 books and more than a dozen essays telling the story of city planning in independent India from a rich variety of perspectives and positions. “Along the way, I found incredible colleagues, collegial atmosphere, and supporting resources – even if the latter required bit of initiative and persistence,” Dr. Vidyarthi states. He also mentions that Chicago’s city planning and design legacy is a unique identifier worldwide and the CUPPA/UIC leadership constantly supported many initiatives including the innovative Master of City Design and other pursuits near and far.

The 2024 Piergiorgio L.E. Uslenghi Global Engagement Emerging Leader Faculty Awardee is Dr. Hananeh Esmailbeigi, Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering

According to Dr. Esmailbeigi, international work has been largely inspired by her personal and academic journey as a teenager. She had the opportunity to live in various countries around the globe with family, which broadened her perspective from a young age. Dr. Esmailbeigi reveals that she attended school in London for High School, Iran for Undergraduate study, USA for Graduate study, and completed an internship in Germany.

Dr. Esmailbeigi’s exposure to researchers from around the globe taught her the immense value of internationalization, which eliminated any hesitation to seek out collaborations and opportunities with researchers from anywhere in the world. It became clear that there were no boundaries to where valuable partnerships and ideas could come from. The partnership with the Politecnico di Milano (Polimi), established by Dr. Uslenghi, enables Polimi students the opportunity to complete two master degrees (one at UIC and one at Polimi) during their program.