Three members of the College of Engineering faculty recently earned Fulbright awards to further their research overseas, benefiting both their host institutions and Drexel and expanding opportunities for future researchers.
The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program offers over 400 awards in more than 135 countries for U.S. citizens to teach, conduct research and carry out professional projects around the world. Projects last from a few months up to a year.
Amir Farnam, PhD, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, earned a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to Belgium. There, he will study a new class of building materials called Thermal-VASC, which are inspired by vascularization and perspiration concepts in nature and can be used in buildings to lower energy demand due to thermoregulation and its associated carbon dioxide footprint. He will work with scholars involved in the multinational European Marie Curie project, SMARTINCS, where Ghent University (UGent) in Belgium is the lead.
Simi Hoque, PhD, professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, has earned a Fulbright U.S. Scholar grant to Italy. There, she will co-create and coordinate a joint masters degree program in Integrated Design for Sustainable Urban Environments at Politecnico di Milano and conduct research on sustainable building and urban systems, focusing specifically on climate change-induced responses and adaptations.
Mira Olson, PhD, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, has earned a Fulbright Specialist grant to France. Olson will work with the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA Lyon) to develop a blueprint on how engineering principles and science can promote and support peace and inclusion as well as a sustainable future for the planet, using Drexel’s MS in Peace Engineering as a model.