WashU Libraries are thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s Newman Exploration Travel Fund Award.

The NEXT Award program is intended to support Washington University students, faculty, and staff who wish to explore this vast world. Travel is a valued means of expanding one’s horizons and inspiring growth, excellence, and innovation while pursuing both personal and professional goals.

Nine applicants won the 2026 NEXT awards. Awardees include undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and staff members.

Undergraduate Student Winners

Viktoriia Knyaz is pursuing a degree in architecture at the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts. She will travel to major cities in the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland to examine postwar reconstruction and long-term housing systems in these countries, with the goal of identifying strategies for Ukraine’s ongoing recovery.

Ingrid Lyons-Carlson, a biology major in the College of Arts & Sciences, will travel to Fiji and New Zealand to see birds and threatened invertebrates in their native habitats and visit leading conservation organizations to learn more about conservation efforts and education.

Graduate Winners

Sumit Gupta, a PhD student in Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, will travel to Britain, France, and Switzerland to explore archives related to Buddhism and spend time at European Buddhist monasteries to gain an understanding of contemplative breath practices.

Judith Mwobobia, a PhD student in the School of Public Health, will travel across the United States (Maryland, Minnesota, Colorado, Texas, Georgia) to pursue the craft of storytelling by spending time with African immigrant families, sharing meals, and listening to their stories.

Janice Tania, a PhD student in biomedical engineering, will travel to Japan and Sri Lanka to explore access to medical and nuclear imaging in Asian countries.

Faculty Winners

John Early, a senior lecturer in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, will travel to France to attend an artist residency and conduct cross-cultural research to further his work with Whereas Hoops, an ongoing community-based project addressing issues of race and equity in the recreational basketball landscape of St. Louis City.

Ralf Wessel, professor of physics, will travel to Italy to deepen his understanding of mosaic art at its historical origins and its contemporary practice, which will support his academic work at the intersection of neuroscience, computation, and aesthetics.

Staff Winners

Meredith Kelling, assistant director for student research and engagement at the Center for the Humanities, will travel to Minnesota and California to explore and research archives, libraries, and personal and cultural networks related to author, poet, and activist Meridel Le Seuer.

KC Kupperman, communications coordinator in University Advancement, will travel to Italy to visit museums and historical sites and learn more about the material culture of ancient Rome.