Research on the Road

Call it lucky number 10.

Six graduate students, three faculty members and one staff member from UC Santa Barbara have received Fulbright Awards from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to conduct research and/or teach abroad for the upcoming academic year.

The highly competitive fellowship is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Students are selected for Fulbright Fellowships on the basis of their academic and professional achievements, as well as their record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.

“Every year the Graduate Division, along with the Office of Undergraduate Education and faculty reviewers from across campus, support applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program who seek to do research, teach or study for a year in places all over the globe,” said Shawn Warner, Graduate Division’s director of professional development. “We are so excited that over a third of our campus’ 15 applicants to the program for the upcoming year were selected as awardees. These 6 students will spend the upcoming academic year carrying out their projects in 5 different countries, all while supporting the Fulbright mission of cultural exchange and ambassadorship.”

The winning fellows, their departments, projects and host countries are:

• Clara Bailey, Chemistry and Biochemistry, “Engineered Microbiomes for Soil Pollutant Remediation” (Switzerland)

• Sabra Harris, East Asian Language and Cultural Studies, “Emergent Indigeneities within Public-Facing Ainu Performance” (Japan)

• Jo Palazuelos-Krukowski, Theater and Dance, “Spectral Frequencies: Recovering the Lost History of Australian Horror Radio” (Australia)

• Jackson Stephenson, Religious Studies, “The Afterlife of Indian Esoteric Buddhist Poetry” (India)

• Felicity Stone-Richards, Political Science, “The Search for Acknowledgment: Anti-Racist and Pro-Immigration Praxis in Japan” (Japan)

• Kira Weiss, Music, “A Contested Symbol with a Dynamic Voice: The Cello and Egyptian Cultural Policy” (Egypt)

In addition, three faculty members and one UCSB staff member have received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program awards:

• Professor Paul Amar, Global Studies (Brazil)

• Associate Professor William Elison, Religious Studies (India)

• Professor Paul Leonardi, Technology Management (Austria)

• Regional Advisor Megan Pankratz, Education Abroad Program (Korea)

Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for future partnerships. Upon returning to their home countries, institutions, labs and classrooms, they share their stories and often become active supporters of international exchange, inviting foreign scholars to campus and encouraging colleagues and students to go abroad. Fulbright Scholar alumni include 61 Nobel Prize laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 40 who have served as a head of state or government.

Over its 75-year history, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to challenges facing our communities and our world. More than 800 U.S. scholars, artists and professionals from all backgrounds annually teach or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Additionally, over 1,900 diverse U.S. students, artists and early career professionals in more than 100 different fields of study receive Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants annually to study, teach English and conduct research overseas. 

As the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, the Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support.

In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar Programs on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.