Two recent UConn graduates are finalists for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which provides grants for individually designed study and research projects or for English teaching assistantships around the world. Students meet, work, live with, and learn from people in the host country, sharing daily experiences.
Ethan Perkins ’24 (ENG) is a graduate student in chemical engineering and will be performing research in Milan, Italy. He earned his undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering and chemical engineering.
“Ethan will work alongside a trusted group of colleagues with whom we have built a strong partnership over the past decade,” says UConn President Radenka Maric, who also served as Perkins’ senior design advisor. “The excellence of the Fulbright Scholarship program at UConn is immensely valuable. This initiative not only promotes global understanding but also encourages collaborative solutions to pressing world challenges. Our two recent finalists will join many faculty and students at UConn who have been actively participating in this program. It serves as a prestigious credential that can help alumni step into significant leadership roles worldwide.”
Perkins will be looking to better understand how certain materials affect the performance of an electrochemical catalyst used in water electrolysis. He will be working with Livia Giordano, a professor at the University of Milano-Biccoca and performing density functional theory calculations of different systems.
“Basically, I am simulating the materials we are interested in and applying machine learning to decide how to optimize it,” says Perkins. “Winning a Fulbright is a massive opportunity to take my research somewhere new and interesting. Having spent time studying abroad in Italy before, I can’t imagine a better place to do so.”
Naomi Wong ’26 (CLAS) will be serving as an English teaching assistant at the elementary or middle school level in Taitung County, Taiwan, for her Fulbright. She earned her undergraduate degree in psychological sciences this past spring.
“I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity to support students while expanding my worldview and continuing to develop my Chinese language skills,” says Wong.
“I am very excited for Naomi and Ethan,” says Michael Cunningham, UConn Fulbright Program advisor. “Their recognition by the Fulbright Program reflects not only their academic excellence, but their curiosity about other cultures and willingness to engage with them. These qualities embody the Fulbright mission of fostering mutual understanding and peaceful relations between the United States and other peoples around the world.”
