Meeting Reports
In February, the Academy held meetings in Washington, Quito, and
Berlin, continuing our important work by bringing together Fulbrighters,
Fulbright hosts, and other leaders.
The Washington meeting at the offices of World Wildlife Fund included
a networking reception and our 2005 annual meeting. Over two dozen
people attended, including representatives from Fulbright administering
agencies, local embassies, law firms, conservation groups, the
mithsonian, and the Fulbright Association. While in Washington, several
board members also participated in the annual meeting of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
The Fulbright Forum in Quito was titled "Global Water Crisis: Problems
& Solutions." Presented in partnership with World Water Watch and the
Fulbright Commission in Ecuador, the forum was held at the
commission's office. Over 60 people attended, including people
representing NGOs, university representatives, Fulbright alumni, current
Fulbrighters, government agency representatives, and some interested
private citizens.
The third meeting was held during the annual Fulbright Week in Berlin,
organized by the German Fulbright Commission. Each year, the German
Commission brings some 300 current grantees to Berlin, and this year
the Academy organized a special dinner and program for those
interested or working in scientific disciplines. Attendees included
professors, teachers, teaching assistants, and student grantees. Several
are profiled in the new members section, below.
Fulbright Forum - Upcoming Programs
The Fulbright Forum is a series of events, held in the United States and
abroad, that bring together Fulbright scholars, Academy members,
leaders in the various scientific and technical disciplines, and the public.
As described above, we held several forums in February and are now
planning additional Fulbright Forums. The Forums are typically held in
conjunction with other meetings or in partnership with universities,
research organizations, or Fulbright alumni groups. During the last few
months we have been in contact with groups such as the
GermanFulbright Commission, the Agency for Science Technology &
Research (in Singapore), the Moroccan Fulbright Alumni Association,
Pennsylvania State University, the Canadian International Development
Agency, and the University of New Hampshire.
The Academy is seeking major sponsors for expanding our series of
Forums and meetings. If you would like to be a sponsor or a partner in
organizing a forum on a topic of particular interest to you or your
organization, please contact the Academy at +1-207-799-3098
<http://www.fulbrightacademy.org/programs.html>For More
information »
Developments in Northern Africa
The First International Conference on Water Resources in the 21st
Century will be held on 6-8 December 2005, in Alexandria, Egypt.
Organized by the Egyptian Water Resources Association, it aims to
provide hydrologists and water resources engineers with the technical
knowledge and skills to assist society in managing water resources. This
meeting is also dedicated to furthering the understanding of natural
hazard and vulnerability risks and to discussing policy and management
options to mitigate their impacts. It will cover aspects from the detection
of water stress to the planning of mitigation strategies, and will be an
opportunity to bring together scholars, scientists, experts and
researchers, thereby allowing managers, decision makers and
stakeholders from around the world to discuss and develop a general
framework to optimize water resources management. (www.ewra.com)
The Arab Union of Scientists & Researchers was established in 2004 as
a scientific nonprofit non-governmental, nonpolitical organization.
AUSR services are designed to complement traditional scientific
research and technology base and to attract new categories of members
who seek to enhance their professional and technical development.
AUSR was formed in keeping with the Strategic Plan of Arab Countries
University and the Union of Arab Universities to provide improved and
comprehensive products and services to a variety of scientist and
researcher teams working in technical, educational, and professional
areas. The AUSR Honorary President is Prof. Farouk El-Baz, Director of
the Center for Remote Sensing at Boston University and also Adjunct
Professor in the Faculty of Science at Ain Shams University in Cairo.
(www.ausr.org)
We are pleased to announce the creation of a Fulbright alumni
organization in Morocco. Their First General Conference and Assembly
was held at the ENIM (Ecole Nationale de l'Industrie Minérale) in Rabat
on Saturday, October 2, 2004. A large and interesting discussion on
sustainable development and the role of universities also took place
among panelists and the audience of about 150. In the same afternoon,
the organization's General Assembly elected 11 members to serve on the
Board for the next triennum. (http://macece.bizland.com)
Fulbright Centennial 1905-2005
Senator Fulbright was born on April 9, 1905, and so this year we
celebrate the centennial of his birth. Fulbright alumni groups around the
world are organizing centennial programs. The German Alumni
Association (Fulbright Alumni, e.V) is one of the largest alumni groups,
and they are hosting a special program to celebrate the man behind the
Fulbright Program and his many contributions to the world society. The
event, to be held in the Amerika Haus in Frankfurt-am-Main, will
include speeches, a panel discussion, and contributions by Fulbright
musicians.
The Irish Fulbright Commission has organized a Fulbright Centenary
Concert and Art Exhibition to showcase the Irish and US Fulbright
artists, musicians and poets who have participated in the Programme.
Opening night on March 31 is an invitation-only program at the RHA
Gallagher Gallery in Dublin.
The British Fulbright Scholars Association will celebrate the day April
9) in Edinburgh, Scotland with a traditional Scottish "ceilidh" in the
famous Fettes College, alma mater of James Bond. Similarly, the
Bulgarian Fulbrighters have organized an afternoon conference at the
University of Sofia for April 9, followed by a dinner at the University
Restaurant. The Uzbekistan Fulbrighters also have a meeting that day,
with presentations from Fulbright Alumni, including a presentation titled
"Catching Senator Fulbright's spirit for the performance of the United
Nations Millennium Development Goals" by Fulbrighter Dinora
Azimova, who is also Human Development Coordinator for the UN
Development Program in Uzbekistan.
The Academy expects that additional programs will take place
throughout the year, and we will keep you informed of upcoming events.
Other Fulbright Program Celebrations
National Fulbright Commissions often use anniversaries of the start of
their exchange program with the US as a way to promote Fulbright
programs locally and as a way to unite alumni. For example, March 31,
2005 is the 50th Anniversary of the agreement that established the
Fulbright program in Chile. The program started the following year
when 15 Chilean grantees went to study architecture, engineering,
nuclear physics, and social sciences in the US and six US grantees came
to Chile to do research in chemistry, law, anthropology, and journalism.
In 2007, we will be marking the 50th Anniversary of the Fulbright
Programme in Ireland, and the Irish Alumni Association, in conjunction
with their Fulbright Commission, is compiling a directory of all Irish
and US Fulbright awardees over the past 50 years.
Next year - 2006 - marks the 60th Anniversary of the creation of the
Fulbright Exchange Program. The Fulbright Academy of Science &
Technology is using this anniversary to conduct a review of
achievements. Many people associate Fulbright scholars with the
humanities, so we may also be looking at the way in which Fulbrights
are awarded to individuals who are active in science, technology,
engineering, innovation, and related disciplines.
Fulbright Academy at AAAS
At the Annual Meeting of the Amercian Association for the
Advancement of Science, we were pleased to discover that this year is
also the centennial of the American Sociological Association
(www.asanet.org). The ASA will be celebrating their centennial at their
meeting in Philadelphia in August.
While in Washington, we met briefly with Dr. John Holden, the
incoming president of AAAS and professor of environmental science
and public policy at Harvard Univeristy, as well as with staff from the
Third World Academy of Sciences in Trieste; and the International
Foundation for Science in Stockholm.
We also spoke with a number of universities and organizations about
institutional membership in the Fulbright Academy. Many were keen on
membership as a way to promote their institution and their achievements
to the Fulbright community and thereby attract faculty and students.
Next year's AAAS meeting will be held in St. Louis, MO; the deadline
for submitting proposals for a symposium is May 2, 2005.
<http://www.aaasmeeting.org>AAAS 2005 & 2006 Meeting »
Some of our newest members
The Academy regularly profiles new members in our newsletter. The
information is either sumbitted by the members or the profiles are based
on materials on the individual's website.
Jennifer Nupp is the exchange program administrator for the Fulbright
Teacher Exchange. Since 1946, the Fulbright Teacher and Administrator
Exchange Program has helped contribute to mutual understanding
between the United States and countries around the world by sending
nearly 23,000 teachers and administrators overseas to teach and learn.
Most are direct exchanges of positions with colleagues from other
countries for six weeks, a semester, or a full academic year.
(www.FulbrightExchanges.org)
Dr. Donald Friend is Associate Professor (with tenure) of Geography
and Director of Earth Science Programs at Minnesota State University
(MSU) in Mankato, Minnesota. His training has great breadth, with
specialization in mountain and desert environments. His research and
teaching interests focus on physical geography, especially earth surface
and atmospheric processes, their interaction and human impacts on
mountains. He is also keenly interested in environmental and geographic
education. He is the US Representative to the International Geographical
Union Commission on Diversity in Mountain Systems, and past Chair
and Co-Founder of the Mountain Geography Specialty Group of the
Association of American Geographers. He is currently in Germany as a
Fulbright lecturer at the University of Erlangen.
We also welcome five current student grantees as members of the
Academy:
Mr. William (Trey) Brant of Texas State University in San
Marcos, who is currently a Fulbright teaching assistant in Germany.
Mr. Allan Bateman of St. Olaf College (Northfield, MN), who is doing
research on molecular neuroscience at the University of Oslo.
Ms. Adrienne Dolberrry of Drexel University (Philadelphia), who is
doing Fulbright research on biology at the University of Giessen.
Ms. Pamela Gehring of Wittenberg Univeristy (Springfield, OH), who is
doing research on biology at the University of Wurzburg.
Mr. Daniel Stark of the Univeristy of Oklahoma, who is doing research
at the Technical Univeristy in Munich and will attend Rice University at
the end of his Fulbright.
Your Organization and Your Membership
The Fulbright Academy is an independent non-profit organization based
in the United States. We receive organizational and financial support
from institutional and individual members, selected Fulbright alumni
groups and commissions, corporations, foundations, and other entities
interested in developing an international network of leaders in science
and technology. We are not affiliated with the Fulbright Association
(US), the US State Department or the Board of Foreign Scholars.
The Fulbright Academy of Science & Technology uses the expertise of
our network of Fulbrighters and leaders in science to address critical
problems in education, scientific innovation and economic development.
Our database has over 10,000 Fulbrighters and scientists around the
world.
Our projects are funded by contracts, grants, and donations from those
that share our mission. Membership income is an important part of our
annual budget; if you or your institution are not a member, please
consider joining today.
<http://www.fulbrighter.org/supporters.html>Click here for a listing of
supporters »
| 
