The University of Connecticut is among the top 10 producers of Fulbright Scholars from research institutions this year.

The University has seven Fulbright Scholars on its faculty who will be teaching and performing research around the world in the 2016-17 academic year, according to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

The Fulbright Program is the government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Scholars are selected for their academic merit and leadership potential, with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program operates in more than 125 countries. The following UConn faculty will be pursuing Fulbright projects abroad:

• Carol Auer, professor emeritus of plant science and landscape architecture, will lecture and perform research into “Advancing Biosecurity and Bioethics Knowledge in Ecuador” at the University of San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador.
• Alexis Dudden, professor of history, will lecture about “East Asian Context for Maritime Issues and the U.S.-Korea Alliance” at Yonsei University in South Korea.
• Kathryn Knapp, associate professor of English, will lecture about “The Contemporary American Bildungsroman in the Age of Decline” at Vilnius University in Lithuania.
• Engineering Professor Radenka Maric, UConn’s new vice president for research, will research “Durable Cathodes for High Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) and Hydrogen Separ” at Politenico Di Milano in Italy.
• Bandana Purkayastha, professor of sociology, will lecture and perform research on “Water, Inequalities, and Rights” at University of Hyderabad in India.
• Nathaniel Trumbull, associate professor of geography, will lecture and perform research on “Best Practices of Decommissioning of Nuclear Power Plants in Russia and the U.S.: Regional, Social and Economic Dimensions” at Saint Petersburg State Polytechnical University in Russia.
• Steven Wisensale, professor of public policy, will lecture on “A Comparative Analysis of Japanese-U.S. Policies” at Yokohama City University in Japan.

The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation by the United States Congress to the Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and the U.S. also provide direct and indirect support.