Iowa State Researchers Receive 2023 Bridging The Divide Grant To Investigate The Evolutionary Legacy Of Maize

The Bridging the Divide program aims to holistically address societal problems by fostering collaboration among researchers in design, arts, humanities, and social sciences and researchers in STEM disciplines. The program is administered by the Iowa State University Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) in partnership with the Center for Excellence in the Arts and Humanities (CEAH). Assistant professor of anthropology and archaeologist Andrew Somerville, associate professor of ecology, evolution, and organismal biology (EEOB) Matthew Hufford, and EEOB Ph.D. student Heather Chamberlain-Irwin have received the annual award for 2023. They will receive $49,000 in institutional funding over two years to examine, radiocarbon date, and DNA sequence maize cobs excavated from archaeological settlements of southern Peru, with the hope of answering broad questions about corn domestication and accompanying societal change.