SNR and Columbian Center for Biological Research Explore Partnership Possibilities

Pausing for a photo during the April visit were, from left, Diego Sierra, CIB Director; Z.B. Mayo; Don Wilhite;  Jaime Robledo, head of CIB’s Bacteriology and Mycobacteriology Unit; and Rafael Arango, head of CIB’s Plant Biotechnology Unit. Note: A photo gallery from the Columbian trip is located below.

The School of Natural Resources and the Corporacion Para Investigaciones Biologicas (CIB) in Medellin, Colombia, have exchanged teams of visitors to explore partnership opportunities. Each institution has different strengths. Colombia’s geography offers Andean mountain forests, part of the Amazon rainforest, and coral reefs, in contrast to Nebraska’s prairies.

"The stage is set,” said Larkin Powell, an SNR wildlife ecologist who visited Colombia in November and helped host visitors in April. “There’s only so much administration can do to make collaboration like this work. It comes down to individual students and faculty identifying a common research need.” Finding funds to support the collaboration will be critical, too. Collaborations of this type may open the opportunity to apply for funding to international agencies.

Colombian graduate students may wish to take courses or pursue degrees at UNL, and our students may be very interested in Colombian field course opportunities. Faculty exchanges are also possible.

In early April, IANR and SNR hosted the Colombian visitors, who explored a variety of connections with people on East Campus. Susan M. Fritz, associate vice chancellor for Planning and Academic Development at IANR, was instrumental in the organization of a very successful visit. Ofelia Barletta-Chacon, a post doctoral researcher in Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, also played a key role in setting up the visit. She said the CIB visitors left “in awe of the beauty of Nebraska’s landscape, and in love with the warmth and character of its people.”

In November, Larkin Powell, a wildlife ecologist from SNR, Blair Siegfried from Entomology, and Z.B. Mayo, Associate Dean of the Agricultural Research Division, travelled to Colombia to learn more about CIB.

The U.S. delegation enjoyed themselves thoroughly, in part because Colombian culture dictated that no business be discussed until the group had shared many excellent meals and seen many sights, Powell said. On the return visit, he said, aware of the much faster U.S. pace, “We tried to learn from our colleagues in Colombia.  I hope we were not overbearing.”

 “International collaborative opportunities are an extremely important component of the professional development of SNR’s faculty,” said Don Wilhite. “The developing program with CIB offers these opportunities not only to our faculty, but also to our students and staff.  I look forward to continuing to develop this relationship for the benefit of IANR, SNR, and CIB.”

Photo Gallery from Columbia (eight images on ten second delay). To display captions, you may need to place your cursor on the image area.