Institute for European Studies
Esra Akcan
Professor, Architectural Theory
Esra Akcan is the Michael A. McCarthy Professor of Architectural Theory in the Department of Architecture. Her scholarly work on a geopolitically conscious global history of urbanism and architecture inspires her teaching. She is the author of Architecture in Translation: Germany, Turkey and the Modern House (Duke University Press, 2012); Turkey: Modern Architectures in History (with S.
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New Funding Opportunity: Student Conference Grant
The Institute for European Studies invites applications from Cornell graduate and undergraduate students for a travel grant of up to $800 to support participation in a conference on a Europe-related theme, in the U.S. or abroad.
Automatic for the People? AI as Public Utility
Nicholas Mulder, IES
Cornell Professor Nicholas Mulder argues that the increasing government stake in AI companies is part of a fourth wave of nationalizations in a century.
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Historical Patterns Reveal Why State Ownership is Expanding Again and How This Time is Different
Nicholas Mulder, IES
According to Nicholas Mulder, a Cornell University assistant professor of history, the world is experiencing a fourth major wave of nationalization—the fastest expansion of state ownership in roughly 50 years.
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New Mexico’s Universal Childcare Plan has a Supply Problem
Mildred Warner, IES/LACS
Mildred Warner, a Cornell professor and leading expert on childcare as economic infrastructure, offers analysis on market failures affecting universal childcare programs.
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Vanity Projects: a History of Building for Power
Esra Akcan, IES
Esra Akcan, a Cornell University professor of architecture, provides analysis on the role of political intent in monumental building projects and distinguishes between public service and vanity projects.
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Student Conference Grant
Details
The Institute for European Studies invites applications from Cornell graduate and undergraduate students for a travel grant of up to $800 to support participation in a conference on a Europe-related theme, in the U.S. or abroad.
Eligibility
Eligibility is restricted to students enrolled in the European Studies Minor (for undergraduates) and to those accepted in the IES Graduate Fellows program (for graduate students).
Requirements
Applicants must have an accepted paper for presentation at the conference or show evidence of some other form of active participation in the conference (e.g. being part of a poster session).
The application consists in a statement of interest including the paper abstract, and explaining why participation in the chosen conference is important to the student’s academic and professional development, a brief CV/resume, a budget indicating the cost of travel, student membership and registration fees, as well as all other institutional sources of funding the student has applied, or is planning to apply to, and a brief letter of recommendation from a professor or academic advisor familiar with the student’s work. Evidence of paper acceptance or other active participation must also be included.
How to Apply
All application materials should be emailed to ies@cornell.edu, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the funding is exhausted. A brief written report of the experience as well as evidence of participation (such as boarding passes and conference name tag) must be submitted at the completion of the conference. Any publication or presentation should acknowledge the support of the Institute for European Studies at Cornell University.
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IES Awards $160,000 in Graduate and Undergraduate Research Fellowships in 2026
Thirty-two Cornell students from several colleges have been awarded IES graduate and undergraduate fellowships to engage in research in and about Europe.
The disciplines represented by these students range from Government, History, and Economics, to Architecture, Communications, Music, and Art. Students will use IES funds to travel for research across the continent, from the United Kingdom, Spain, and France, to Germany, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Poland, Estonia, and Iceland.
Our largest award, the IES Luigi Einaudi Dissertation Fellowship, will fully fund one semester of field research for two graduate students: Rocio Salas-Lewin (Government), who will travel to Spain for research on her comparative politics project of citizen polarization and participation in Spain and Chile, and William Leigh Maines (History), who will spend a semester in the UK researching how sailors of Britain’s Royal Navy configured, experienced, and negotiated a uniquely naval version of Britain’s empire with the reform-minded Admiralty.
Find more information about the winners of our awards on our Recent Awardees page. We congratulate all IES awardees and wish them a productive summer and year ahead.
By Patricia Young, Senior Program Manager
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Program
IES Awards $160,000 in Graduate and Undergraduate Research Fellowships in 2026
Thirty-two Cornell students from several colleges have been awarded IES graduate and undergraduate fellowships to engage in research in and about Europe.
Colombia’s Super‑rich Pack Their Bags Amid the Rise of the Left
Cristóbal Young, IES
Cristóbal Young, a sociology professor at Cornell University, argues that the migration rates of the ultra-wealthy are very low and that the threat of millionaire tax flight is largely exaggerated.