THE ADMINISTRATORS OF THE TULANE EDUCATIONAL FUND

Their core work

Tulane University is a major private research university based in New Orleans, Louisiana, with particular historical strength in Latin American and Caribbean studies as well as materials science. In H2020, Tulane participated as a third-party knowledge partner — meaning its researchers joined EU-funded consortia as external collaborators, typically through staff exchange programs rather than as formal consortium members. Their two documented EU collaborations span strikingly different domains: polymer chemistry (biodegradable and biobased plastics) and humanistic research into historical failure, marginalization, and the social legacies of Iberian colonialism in Latin America. This breadth reflects a large multidisciplinary university rather than a focused research institute.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Tulane's earliest H2020 engagement (BIODEST, starting 2018) was in materials science — specifically the chemistry and structural properties of biodegradable polymers. The second project (REVFAIL, starting 2019) pivoted entirely to the humanities, focusing on historical narratives of failure and social exclusion in colonial Latin America. This is not a thematic evolution within one discipline but rather evidence of two separate research departments at Tulane independently joining EU consortia. With only two data points spanning just one year apart, no meaningful directional trend can be established.

No clear disciplinary trend is visible — Tulane's H2020 footprint reflects opportunistic, department-level participation rather than a coordinated institutional strategy, making future collaboration direction difficult to predict.

How they like to work

Tulane has participated exclusively as a third party in both H2020 projects, never as a formal coordinator or lead partner. This role in MSCA-RISE consortia typically means hosting visiting researchers or sending Tulane staff to European partner institutions for knowledge exchange, rather than driving project management. Despite only two projects, Tulane engaged with 23 distinct consortium partners across 17 countries, which is a notably broad network for a peripheral third-party role.

Tulane connected with 23 consortium partners across 17 countries through just two MSCA-RISE projects, suggesting each consortium was large and internationally distributed. Their network is geographically global, spanning Europe, the Americas, and beyond, consistent with the MSCA-RISE model of intercontinental researcher exchange.

What sets them apart

Tulane is one of very few US universities appearing in H2020 data with expertise bridging polymer materials science and Latin American colonial history — two domains rarely found within the same institutional partner. For EU consortia seeking a non-European academic node with strong Americas connections and Latin American area studies depth, Tulane's geographic and cultural positioning in New Orleans is a genuine differentiator. However, their track record as a third party only means they are best approached as a knowledge or mobility partner, not a project leader.

Highlights from their portfolio

• REVFAIL
  A rare humanities project running to 2024 focused on the genealogy of failure and social marginalization in Iberian colonial empires — an unusual subject for EU funding and a strong fit for partners needing Latin American historical expertise.
• BIODEST
  Represents Tulane's materials science capability, specifically in biodegradable polyesters — a commercially relevant area given EU packaging regulations and circular economy policy pressure.