Fulbright New Zealand announces 2016 scholar award grantees

Fulbright New Zealand announces 2016 scholar award grantees

Fulbright New Zealand announces the new grantees of its prestigious scholar awards, who will be honoured tomorrow at a special ceremony at Parliament. This scholar awards announcement follows the earlier announcement of Fulbright New Zealand’s graduate awards.

The Fulbright programme promotes international goodwill and mutual understanding between New Zealand and the United States through educational and cultural exchange.

Fulbright New Zealand scholar awards are a range of awards offered to New Zealand and American academics, artists and professionals to research, teach, present their work and gain practical experience in each other’s countries. The awards include airfares, a basic health benefit plan and programme support. Grantees are selected on the basis of academic excellence, leadership potential and ambassadorial qualities.

The grantees are as follows.

Fulbright New Zealand Scholar Awards
These awards are for New Zealand academics, artists or professionals to lecture and/or conduct research in the US for three to five months. This year three awards were granted.

• Matthew Stott from Taupō is undertaking research into the ecological, functional and taxonomic similarities of microorganisms that populate geothermal ecosystems in New Zealand and Yellowstone National Park, Montana. Matthew leads the Extremophiles Research Group in the Department of Geothermal Sciences at GNS Science, Wairakei.
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• Nigel Isaacs from Wellington is researching the development of the first USA national building code (1922) and its impact on the first New Zealand national building code (1924) based at the University of Illinois with visits to archives in Minnesota, Iowa and Maryland. Nigel is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington.

• Rob Keyzers from Wellington will research the use of microbial imaging mass spectrometry to fast-track the discovery of new antibiotics at the Skaggs Institute of Pharmacy, University of California in San Diego. Rob is a Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at Victoria University of Wellington.

Fulbright-Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga Scholar Award
This award is for a New Zealand academic, artist or professional to conduct research and/or lecture in the US for three to five months in a field of indigenous development. One award was granted.

• Te Kīpa Kēpa Brian Morgan from Waiheke Island is researching potential applications of the Mauri Model Decision Making Framework at the University of Hawai`i, Colorado School of Mines, and the University of Arizona. Te Kīpa Kēpa Brian is a Senior Lecturer at The University of Auckland.

Fulbright US Scholar Awards
These awards are for US academics, artists or professionals to lecture and/or conduct research in New Zealand for three to five months. This year four awards were granted.

• David Grainger from Salt Lake City, Utah is developing a new nanoparticle toxicity assessment model for the brain at the University of Otago. David is a University Distinguished Professor of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Chemistry and Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Utah, and active consultant for the global medical device and drug delivery research and development enterprise.
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• Jake Vander Zanden from Madison, Wisconsin is researching factors affecting water quality in New Zealand lakes, based at the University of Waikato. Jake is a Professor at the Center for Limnology and Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

• Katherine Crawford-Garrett is an assistant professor of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy at the University of New Mexico. Her areas of scholarship include neoliberal contexts of schooling, teacher activism, critical literacy and feminism. Her research will focus on TeachFirst NZ, a programme that prepares university graduates in New Zealand to work in low-decile schools.

• Louise Davidson-Schmich from Miami, Florida is researching New Zealand’s female Prime Ministers (Jenny Shipley and Helen Clark) and teaching a class on Comparative Political Economy at the Victoria University of Wellington. Louise is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Miami.

Fulbright Scholar-In-Residence Programme
These awards are for US academic institutions to host overseas academics for a semester or full academic year to help upgrade and internationalise their curricula, give advice on faculty development and conduct lectures from a comparative perspective. Approximately 50 awards covering travel, living costs, insurance and professional allowances are offered each year to institutions historically underserved by international scholarly exchange.

• Caro McCaw from Dunedin will be hosted by State University of New York in upstate New York to teach in their Graphic and Multimedia design programme. Caro will give talks about current art and design practices in New Zealand to nearby universities and the wider community. Caro is a Principal Lecturer and Academic Leader of Communication Design at Otago Polytechnic.

These awards will be presented at the 2016 Fulbright New Zealand Awards Ceremony and Alumni Reception at Parliament on Tuesday 28 June.

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