Sisters Collaborate on President’s Award Project in Japan
It wasn’t until they boarded the flight to Tokyo together that Sarah and Sophia Snapp — sisters from Clear Lake, Texas, who are seniors at The University of Texas at Austin — believed they were really getting to spend a month in Japan for a President’s Award for Global Learning research project.
As the signature program of UT Austin’s International Board of Advisors, the President’s Award for Global Learning empowers faculty and students to explore real-world interdisciplinary topics by equipping teams with funding to conceptualize and implement projects around the world.
In partnership with Tokyo Metropolitan University, “The Sustainable and Resilient Smart City in Japan” project focuses on disaster-resilient smart city development in Japan by studying Aizuwakamatsu, a smart city in Fukushima, along with the Toyota Woven City, a “mass human experiment” and real-life test course for mobility, according to Toyota. By gaining insight into successful approaches employed in Japan, the team aims to explore and contribute to the future development of smart cities and communities in Austin and beyond.
The project also presented the rare opportunity for Sophia, an environmental engineering major, and Sarah, a double major in Asian cultures and languages and Asian studies, to collaborate on an interdisciplinary project. In June, it took them from Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, to Tokyo and Fukushima, with many more stops along the way.
“It felt like the stars aligned,” Sophia said. “I was blown away that something that combined our two majors existed. We’ve always been close, so I was a little disappointed when she got to UT because we didn’t get to take the same classes or see each other around campus very much. That’s why finding this President’s Award opportunity has been so exciting.”
Read the full story at Texas Global Newsroom.
