Six UMass Faculty Members Selected as 2024-25 US Fulbright Scholar Award Recipients

Six UMass Amherst faculty members, researchers and administrators have been selected to receive Fulbright U.S. Scholar Awards for the 2024-25 academic year.<_o3a_p>

Established by Congress in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government's flagship program of international educational and cultural exchange. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually offers over 400 awards for U.S. citizens, faculty members and administrators to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects in more than 135 countries around the world.<_o3a_p>

"It's wonderful to see so many UMass Amherst faculty awarded Fulbright Fellowships every year," says Kalpen Trivedi, vice provost for global affairs and director of the International Programs Office (IPO). "We were recognized by the IIE [Institute of International Education] as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution last year and I hope that we will continue to build on this recognition."<_o3a_p>

Support for faculty members preparing Fulbright applications is provided by the IPO and the Office of Faculty Development. Kim Stender, IPO executive assistant, serves as the Fulbright Scholar Liaison for the UMass Amherst campus.

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2024-25 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award Recipients
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Virginia Closs, associate professor of classics, College of Humanities and Fine Arts<_o3a_p>

Closs's current book project investigates the representation of space and time in the poetry of the 1st century Common Era epigrammatist Martial, with particular interest in the influence of Spain and Greece on the way the poet represents his world. In addition to Closs's research, she will work closely with Fulbright sponsors Sophia Papaioannou, of the National and Kapodistrian University in Athens, and Rosario Moreno Soldevila, of Pablo de Olavide University in Seville, to organize a number of public lectures, guest lectures in undergraduate classes, classes and guest teaching graduate seminars in classics.<_o3a_p>

"I am especially thrilled to receive this award because it's the second time I've gotten it-the first time was 2020 and all grants were canceled due to the pandemic," Closs says. "This is a huge opportunity to make progress on my research, as well as to build connections with Classics scholars and students in my host countries."

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Carey Clouse, professor of architecture and landscape architecture, College of Humanities and Fine Arts<_o3a_p>

Clouse will study the innovative climate change adaptation projects currently underway in Iceland. These projects range from landscape to planning initiatives across the country and offer valuable insights into future design practices.<_o3a_p>

"I am excited to spend a year getting to know Iceland, and to learn more about the cutting-edge climate change adaptation practices in place there," Clouse says.

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Sarah L. Goff, professor and chair, Department of Health Promotion and Policy, School of Public Health and Health Sciences<_o3a_p>

In this healthcare equity-focused study, Goff will be exploring experiences related to healthcare for people with physical disabilities and for maternal health care. The study ties closely to a national effort in New Zealand to improve healthcare quality and equity for populations with disparate health outcomes.<_o3a_p>

"I feel fortunate to be given this incredible opportunity to collaborate with health services researchers in New Zealand and Australia on our shared interest in addressing healthcare inequities," Goff says. "The complex mix of history, social norms, past and present public policies, and other factors influence healthcare equity in many societies. Our hope is that our work contributes to a better global understanding of common and unique factors contributing to healthcare inequities and that we learn together what interventions may be effective in addressing them."

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Lucas Griffin, postdoctoral research associate, environmental conservation, College of Natural Sciences<_o3a_p>

Griffin will be a Fulbright postdoctoral scholar at Deakin University, Australia, focusing on the Murray cod, a culturally important and iconic freshwater fish endemic to the country. His research aims to understand the species' bioenergetic responses to climate change by examining metabolic rates and energy expenditure across temperature, providing insights for resource management strategies.<_o3a_p>

"I am incredibly excited to join the Fulbright Scholar Program, collaborating with exceptional scientists in Australia to advance research in climate change and ecophysiology," Griffin says.

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Juan M. Jiménez, associate professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, College of Engineering<_o3a_p>

Jiménez will be joining the Department of Cardiovascular Science at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, where he will be collaborating with other vascular biology experts to elucidate the role of pressure gradients in endothelial cell migration and wound healing after vascular interventions.<_o3a_p>

"The Fulbright Fellowship will allow me to create new collaborations, learn more about other cultures, and provide the opportunity to develop models to understand basic mechanisms of mechanotransduction," Jiménez says.

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Diane Kelly, senior research fellow, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, College of Natural Sciences<_o3a_p>

Kelly will visit the University of Adelaide in Australia to conduct a comprehensive study of genital anatomy in the short-beaked echidna. By surveying tissues from the males and females of this egg-laying mammal, she hopes to fill a significant hole in our knowledge of how copulatory systems evolved in mammals and better understand the transition between ancestral reptile-like and more modern mammalian reproductive tracts.<_o3a_p>

"I'm very excited to have the opportunity to work on these amazing animals," Kelly says. "Aside from learning more about the evolution of these tissues, I'm looking forward to collaborating with biologists who focus on the conservation of endangered egg-laying mammals in Australia and New Guinea."<_o3a_p>

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