UT awards first Chaudhary-Steinitz Honors Research Grant

March 12, 2010 | Research, UToday
By Cathy Zimmer



The Chaudhary-Steinitz Honors Research Grant for $1,000 was awarded to UT student Hasan Dudar for his project titled “Watering the Soil: How Developing an Efficient Irrigation System and Agricultural Base Can Industrialize and Develop Pakistan’s Economy.”

UT junior Hasan Dudar showed his research project to Dr. Larry Connin. Dudar received the first Chaudhary-Steinitz Honors Research Grant for his project that focuses on assisting Pakistan.

UT junior Hasan Dudar showed his research project to Dr. Larry Connin. Dudar received the first Chaudhary-Steinitz Honors Research Grant for his project that focuses on agricultural development Pakistan.

“It is an honor to receive the Chaudhary-Steinitz Honors Research Grant. I think Pakistan is a very important country, and there needs to be special focus on its economic, political and social development,” Dudar said. “Hopefully, if enough people from all sectors devote efforts to aiding Pakistan, the country can develop an advanced economic and political system and reverse the cycle of poverty and violence. With the help of this grant, my research intends to join with these worldwide efforts.”

“The Chaudhary-Steinitz Research Grant will promote greater interest and research in South Asian affairs. Currently, this region has two nuclear powers, a number of countries with large, growing and youthful populations, along with rapid economic growth and modernization,” said Dr. Larry Connin, University Honors Program administrator and associate director of undergraduate research. “With Hasan’s background and interest in global affairs, he proved to be an ideal candidate for the first recipient of this award.”

“Hasan’s research project is a very interesting case study of the effects of foreign assistance on agricultural development in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. This study is ambitious and complex and will require an examination of a number of different factors, such as the effectiveness of foreign aid, agricultural development, international organizations, U.S. foreign policy and economic development,” said Dr. Mark Denham, associate professor and chair of political science. “Although the topic is complex, I have no doubt that Hasan can and will complete the research task in an exemplary way; he has the skill and the motivation to produce a product he can be proud of.”

Dudar is a junior in the University Honors Program majoring in political science. In addition, he is the managing editor of The Independent Collegian.

The Chaudhary-Steinitz Research Grant was established by Shamila N. Chaudhary and her husband, Christopher J. Steinitz. Chaudhary, a UT Honors Program alumna, majored in English and women’s studies. She works at the U.S. State Department on matters related to Afghanistan and Pakistan. In memory of her time at UT and in support of the Honors Program, she established this endowed grant for UT honors students who are conducting research related to Pakistan (or South Asia and/or the more broadly defined Middle East) within any academic discipline or inter-discipline. The recipient must be a member of the UT Honors Program, have financial need, and be actively engaged in undergraduate research in the designated area.

The Chaudhary-Steinitz Research Grant selection committee members included Connin, Denham, Dr. Thomas Kvale, interim director of the Honors Program and director of undergraduate research, and Dr. S. Amjad Hussain, UT trustee and professor emeritus of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.

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