Anthropology Graduate Student Receives Phi Kappa Phi Award

Danay Downing, a master’s student in anthropology and a graduate certificate student in cognitive science, received a Love of Learning fellowship from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi. Downing used the fellowship to support research during Summer 2013. She conducted intensive observational research at the center for Great Apes in Wauchula, Florida. Downing was gathering data for her master’s thesis through careful observation and recording of social activity among semi-free ranging primates, including organgutans and chimpanzees.

She is studying patterns of gaze following and attention among primates to expand our understanding of their visual and social communication. The research has potential implications for better understanding primate cognition.

Downing earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from UNC Charlotte, and was initiated into Phi Kappa Phi in 2012. She is currently a graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Anthropology, working with Diane Brockman to teach the labs in ANTH 2141, the core course in biological anthropology. UNC Charlotte’s chapter of Phi Kappa Phi was inaugurated in 1980. New members, including undergraduates, graduates, and faculty, are initiated every spring. Love of Learning Awards help fund post-baccalaureate studies and/or career development for active Phi Kappa Phi members to include (but not be limited to): Graduate or professional studies, doctoral dissertations, continuing education, career development, travel related to teaching/studies, etc. One hundred forty-seven awards are distributed each year.