UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA STUDENTS WIN FULBRIGHTS

David Aftab Ansari, a CLA Honors graduate of the University of Minnesota, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to Senegal. He will investigate the role of Islamic leaders, community, and organizations in the de-stigmatization of HIV/AIDs. Ansari received a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota in 2007.

Tovah Bender, a Ph.D. student in History, is one of twenty-four students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Italy. Her dissertation examines the marriage formation process for young artisan women in 15th century Florence. Bender received a B.A. in Anthropology and Medieval Studies from the University of Michigan in 2001 and a M.A. in History from Fordham University in 2005.

Rachel Maureen Brummel, a Ph.D. student in Conservation Biology, is one of twelve students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Australia. She will investigate collaborative decision-making and planning with regard to bushfire suppression and management. Brummel received a B.A. in Biology from Grinnell College in 2003.

Todd Riley Olin, J.D., is the 2007-08 winner of the University of Minnesota Graduate School's Fulbright Scholarship Exchange Program with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway. His research is a comparative study of energy policy between the United States and Norway. Olin received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota (UM) in 2002 and a J.D. from the UM in 2007.

Richard Charles Parks, a Ph.D. student in History of Medicine, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to Tunisia. He will explore how French colonial public health officials justified the destruction of the hara, a district in the Medina, and how various ethnic and religious groups in Tunis interpreted it. Parks received a B.A. in Political Science and French from New York University in 1995 and a J.D. from Tulane University in 2001.

Aeleah HeaRan Soine, a Ph.D. student in History, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany. The focus of her research is from the 1830s until World War I and how German nurses corresponded and collaborated with American and British nurses for the purpose of transforming their work into a respectable profession for women. Soine received a B.A. in History and Women's Studies from Gustavus Adolphus College in 2003 and a M.A. in History from the University of Minnesota in 2006.

Elizabeth Margaret Swedo, a Ph.D. student in History, is one of seven students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Iceland. Her dissertation will identify the characteristics of Icelandic religious practices between 1300 and 1550, tying the Icelandic clergy and lay society to their wider Scandinavian and European contexts. Swedo received a B.A. in History and English from Marquette University in 2003 and a M.A. in History from the University of Minnesota in 2006.

Julie Elizabeth Whitcomb, a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to Germany. Her project addresses an urgent problem in vision biology: the interplay between retinal blood flow and retinal blood vessel elasticity and how it might be used in the fight to prevent blindness. Whitcomb received a B.S. in Mathematics and Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2003 and a M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in 2006.

Adam Conrad Johnson, a Ph.D. student in Neuroscience, is the 2006-07 winner of the University of Minnesota Graduate School’s Fulbright Scholarship Exchange Program with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.  He will join a team of researchers at the Centre for the Biology of Memory at NTNU, where he will examine how animal behaviors and cellular behaviors are modified under pharmacological manipulation.  Johnson graduated magna cum laude from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a B.S. in Physics in 2002.  

Catherine Eileen Kirchman, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, received a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship to Germany for the 2006-07 academic year.  Kirchman received a B.A. in German Studies in 2005. 

Luis Xavier Morera, a Ph.D. student in History, is one of twenty-eight students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Spain.  For his dissertation, he will investigate how royal ceremonies of late medieval Castile functioned within larger patterns of consolidation of the monarchy.  Morera received a B.A. in History from Sam Houston State University in 1999 and a M.A. in History from the University of Texas at Austin in 2003.

Rebecca Trotzky-Sirr, a third year medical student, is one of three students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Venezuela.  She will attend the post-graduate public health program through the Escuela de Salud publica Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas.  As part of this program, she will conduct her dissertation study as a participant observer in the Barrio Adentro clinics and will address the successes and challenges of Barrio Adentro using patient centered performance indicators.  Trotzky-Sirr received a B.A. in Urban Studies and a M.S. in Civil Engineering from Stanford University in 2002.

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Jane A. DeRonne, a graduate student in Communication Studies, has received a Fulbright teaching assistantship to Germany for the 2005-06 academic year.  She will assist in teaching English and American studies to high school students in Hamburg.  Ms. DeRonne received a B.A. in Linguistics from Swarthmore College in 2003 and will receive a M.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Minnesota this summer. 

Jennifer M. Illuzzi, a Ph.D. student in History, is one of twenty-six students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to Italy.  Her research focuses on the history of Gypsies and their interactions with national and local authorities and communities in Italy during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  In addition, she was awarded the Myrna G. Smith International Research Grant to cover research expenses while abroad.  Ms. Illuzzi received a B.S. in International History from Georgetown University in 1999. 

Barbara T. Martinez, a Ph.D. student in Conservation Biology, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to Madagascar.  She will study one of the most endangered primates in the world, the red-ruffed lemur, and how they respond to forest fragmentation.  Ms. Martinez received a B.S. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin in 1998.

Lynne S. Newton, a Ph.D. student in Anthropology, will spend 2005-06 in Oman on a Fulbright Scholarship.  Her research will focus on religious pilgrimage and trade in southern Arabia, specifically the economic and social effects of population movement in the Dhofar region.  Ms. Newton received a B.A. in New World Antiquities from Southwest Missiouri State University in 1992 and a M.A. in Archaeology from the University of Minnesota in 2000.

Jeanine Refsnider, a graduate student in Conservation Biology, is one of ten students nationally to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to New Zealand.  She will study the tuatara, a rare reptile, to determine how it has survived large-scale climate changes when other nearly identical forms of life have become extinct.  Ms. Refsnider received a B.A. in Biology from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 2000 and will receive a M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Minnesota this summer.   

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Jason Schaller, a graduate of the University of Minnesota, has received a Fulbright teaching assistantship to Korea for the 2005-06 academic year.  Mr. Schaller received a B.A. in Sociology from the University of Minnesota in 2004. 

Robert G. Strand, MBA, is the 2005-06 winner of the University of Minnesota Graduate School’s Fulbright Scholarship Exchange Program with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, Norway.  He will conduct a thorough investigation of how Norwegian business account for social responsibility and environmental stewardship, how they report these matters to their constituencies, and how some of the practices might be transferred to the United States. Mr. Strand received a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Wisconsin in 1999 and a MBA from the University of Minnesota this spring. 

Michelle L. Wieland, a Ph.D. student in Conservation Biology, has received a Fulbright Scholarship to the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Her research on perceptions and utilization of biodiversity in and around Conkouati-Douli National Park is of direct importance to the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Government of Congo in assisting the development of participative management strategies.  Ms. Wieland received a B.S. in Animal Ecology from Iowa State University in 1998.