From the olive groves of Turkey to marine ecosystems off the coast of Spain, University of Arizona research and expertise will soon travel the world after seven faculty members were recently named Fulbright Scholars. 

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. State Department's flagship cultural exchange program that supports U.S. scholars conducting research or teaching abroad for up to a year. The program also welcomes international students and faculty to domestic institutions to foster international cooperation and academic exchange. 

"Our Fulbright Scholars exemplify the high quality of the U of A's faculty, the research they conduct and the education we provide," said President Suresh Garimella. "The Fulbright Program allows our faculty to build global partnerships and advance new collaborations. We're all proud of their excellence as they showcase the best of what the U of A has to offer on the international stage."

The U of A celebrated its first Fulbright Scholar in 1954 when Walter S. Phillips traveled to the University of Adelaide in Australia to research biology. Since then, more than 300 Fulbright Scholars have represented the U of A at institutions around the world. 

Selected as 2025 Fulbright Scholars are: 

• Melody Buckner, associate vice provost of Digital Learning and Online Initiatives and assistant professor of practice in the College of Education, received the Fulbright International Education Administrative Award. She recently completed a two-week seminar in India focused on the country's higher education system, exchanging best practices and exploring partnership opportunities.
• Brian Silverstein, professor of anthropology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, was named a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. He will travel to Turkey's Ayvalık region to study olive oil production and its ties to agricultural reform, national identity and cultural change.
• Dr. Stefano Guerra, professor of medicine in the College of Medicine – Tucson, will work in Sweden using data from the BAMSE Study, a repository of data collected from a group of more than 4,000 Swedish children born between 1994 and 1996. Guerra's research focuses on identifying early-life predictors of adult lung disease.
• Peter Ecke, professor of German studies in the College of Humanities, will study at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, Poland. His work will inform new and existing courses in international communication and study abroad programs at the U of A.
• Shelley Smith, assistant professor of practice in the Graduate College, received the Fulbright-García Robles Teaching English as a Foreign Language grant. She will develop English language curricula alongside the Mexican Fulbright Commission.
• Solange Duhamel, associate professor of molecular and cellular biology in the College of Science, will study the movement of phosphorus through the ocean at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaría in Spain to better understand the element's role in supporting marine ecosystems.
• Priscilla Magrath, senior lecturer in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, received the Fulbright Scholar Teaching Award and will teach and mentor in qualitative research methods and global health at two Indonesian universities: Universitas Jenderal Soedirman and Universitas Indonesia.

U of A faculty and students can learn more, and apply to, various Fulbright Program fellowships through the Office of Research and Partnership's Fulbright website.