Three members of the College of Engineering faculty have earned Fulbright
awards to further their research overseas, benefiting both their host
institutions and Drexel and expanding opportunities for future researchers.
Amir Farnam, PhD,
associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering,
has earned a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to Belgium. There, he will study
a new class of building materials called Thermal-VASC, which are inspired
by vascularization and perspiration concepts in nature, and can be used in
buildings to lower energy demand due to thermoregulation and its associated
carbon dioxide footprint. He will work with scholars involved in the
multinational European Marie Curie project, SMARTINCS, where Ghent
University (UGent) in Belgium is the lead. The project will create a strong
and international institutional collaboration not only between Drexel and
UGent, but also between Drexel and institutes involved in SMARTINCS such as
Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, University of Cambridge
in UK, Politecnico di Milano (PoliMi) in Italy, Valencia Polytechnic
University in Spain, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany.
Simi Hoque, PhD,
professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, has earned
a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to Italy. She will study urban systems and
sustainable urban development and help to further promote the PoliMi-Drexel
exchange program that was spearheaded by Professor Emerita Gena Ellis.
Hoque’s proposed project will take place on two campuses of PoliMi, Milan
and Lecco. She will develop a joint cross-disciplinary MS program in
Integrated Design for Sustainable Urban Environments, research Milan’s
sustainability efforts, and teach a course on urban sustainability.
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135
countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out
professional projects around the world. Projects last from a few months up
to a year.
Mira Olson, PhD,
associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering,
has earned a Fulbright Specialist grant to France. Olson will work with the
Institut National des Science Appliques (INSA Lyon) to develop a blueprint
on how engineering principles and science can promote and support peace and
inclusion as well as a sustainable future for the planet, using Drexel’s MS
in Peace Engineering as a model. Drexel and INSA Lyon are longtime research
partners, and the project will enrich the collaboration between the two
institutions.
The Fulbright Specialist Program is a unique opportunity for U.S. academics
and established professionals to engage in two- to six-week, project-based
exchanges at host institutions across the globe.
“These awards affirm Drexel’s place as a leader in addressing timely issues
on the world scale,” said Rogelio Miñana, vice provost for global
engagement. “The College of Engineering is consistently doing work that has
global impact, so it is no coincidence that these extraordinary researchers
have been recognized by the Fulbright program..”
The Fulbright Program, which aims to increase mutual understanding between
the people of the United States and the people of other countries, is the
flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S.
government. Fulbright alumni include 59 Nobel Laureates, 84 Pulitzer Prize
winners, 72 MacArthur Fellows, 16 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients,
and thousands of leaders across the private, public, and non-profit
sectors.