Grant recipients will use the $1,000 awards to initiate long-range projects or research that will advance the field of China studies.

Chen's research proposal, entitled "Urban Planning Management System Under A Market Economy: A Comparative Study of the U.S. and China," will look at key issues in the market economies of Los Angeles and Guangzhou, China, related to the establishment of urban planning management systems.

"The results of this study," said Chen, an urban studies and planning professor, "would shed light on the similarities and differences between the U.S. and the Chinese urban planning practices."

Due for completion by June 30, 2004, the research may secure additional grants from Guangzhou to further strengthen the CSUN-Guangzhou urban studies and planning ties, he said.

History professor Richard Horowitz will use the grant to conduct research at the Second National Historical Archives in Nanjing, China, and will consult with archive staff engaged in cataloguing and preserving materials.

As part of a larger cataloguing project involving Chinese Maritime Customs service from the 1850s to 1949 in both English and Chinese, Horowitz will focus on assembling, editing and writing a documentary history in collaboration with British scholars Hans Van De Ven of Cambridge University, and Robert Bickers of the University of Bristol.

"This provides important historical context for China's economic development and growing integration into the international economy and global society," Horowitz said. "My research, and that of my collaborators, also points to the customs service's role in introducing new and efficient forms of organization and record keeping."

Christa Metzger, a professor in educational leadership and policy studies, plans to use the grant to conduct a comparative research study between the United States and Guangzhou's urban school district superintendents and the educational college deans.

With the collaboration of CSUN Chinese scholars, Metzger will explore how Chinese administrators and educational leaders cope with stress and the emotional issues in their lives.

Metzger's findings will be compared to her previous study of United States' superintendents and deans. She will then be able to make recommendations for improving the conditions of work for educational administrators both in the U.S. and in China.

"I believe the results will benefit educational leaders and educational change in both communities," she said.

Cal State Northridge established the China Institute in 1982. The institute aims to promote better understanding of the Chinese culture and to strengthen friendship between the American and Chinese people. In more than 20 years, it has played host to hundreds of Chinese scholars and has been influential in arranging dozens of education and cultural exchange programs between China and the United States. For more information about the institute, visit its Web site at www.csunchinainstitute.org.