ATHENS, Ga. – Dorothy Fragaszy, Tammy Lyskowinski, and Hui-Chin Hsu have recently received unique and distinguished Fulbright Scholar grants to travel abroad for professional development and research in the 2005-2006 award year.
Fragaszy, a professor of psychology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, received a grant through the traditional Fulbright Scholar Program to conduct research and conduct lectures at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. Her research there will focus on tool use in monkeys.
Fragaszy will serve as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar from March through June 2006 at the University of São Paulo’s Institute of Experimental Psychology. She will teach a graduate class in that program and will conduct collaborative research projects with students and colleagues at the university.
“The opportunity to spend a full semester in Brazil at the University of São Paulo is a dream come true for me,” says Fragaszy. “While I have traveled widely for my work, I have not previously had an opportunity to join a university program for an extended period as a teacher-scholar. I very much look forward to learning Portuguese and to working with faculty and students in São Paulo.”
Fragaszy’s research focuses on problem-solving, manipulation, foraging and feeding in primates. She works primarily with capuchin monkeys and human children. She collaborates with other researchers in laboratory studies of spatial cognition, all with nonhuman primates, and on studies of tool use, percussion and bimanual coordination in human children.
Lyskowinski, advisor to international faculty and staff in the Office of International Education, received a scholarship through the U.S.-Germany International Education Administrators (IEA) Program. She participated in a group seminar on German higher education and society.
“My Fulbright experience was one that I will never forget,” said Lyskowinski. “Speaking with my German and Polish colleagues gave me an insight into their educational systems that I could have never learned through research alone. By visiting both Germany and Poland, I was able to see the contrasts between the two countries, instead of just comparing them to the U.S. Each country has its own set of advantages and disadvantages concerning international education, but it was clear that in both countries international education is a top priority.”
In October 2005, Lyskowinski traveled with a group of administrators from U.S. universities, colleges and community colleges selected because their work with international exchanges in higher education.
“The program included briefings, selected government appointments, campus visits and cultural events. The itinerary included meetings in Berlin and other cities in eastern and western Germany, and a trip to Poland,” according to the Fulbright Scholar Program website.
Hsu, an associate professor in the Department of Child and Family Development in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, is currently in Taiwan serving as a senior U.S. Fulbright Researcher from September 2005 until July 2006 at the School and Graduate Institute of Physical Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University. She is conducting collaborative research projects with colleagues at the university hospital. The focus of the project is on social interactions between preterm infants and their mothers.
“It has been a wonderful experience for me to work with an interdisciplinary research team,” says Hsu. “I have done infancy research with healthy full-term infants in a laboratory setting for many years. My research in Taiwan is my first experience to team up with pediatricians and physical therapists to assess preterm infants and newborn full-terms in the hospital. I have learned a lot from my Taiwanese colleagues.”
In addition to research, she also teaches undergraduate and graduate classes on parenting and gives lectures to pediatric staff about infant mental health. She also has been invited to serve on the Selection Committee for the 2006-2007 Taiwan Fulbright grants and fellowships recommending graduate students and faculty in Taiwan to study or conduct research in the U.S.
“The Foundation for Scholarly Exchange (Fulbright Foundation) in Taiwan (www.fulbright.org.tw/1a_main.htm) has done an excellent job in providing orientation, services, and travel support to us. The additional funds for inter-country travel will allow me to attend the Fulbright China Research Forum in Hong Kong and an infancy conference in Japan next year. I am excited about having the opportunity to exchange experiences with other Fulbrighters in the region.”
Since 1946, the U.S. Government-sponsored Fulbright Scholar Program has provided faculty and professionals with an unparalleled opportunity to study and conduct research in other nations.
These UGA faculty members are among the 250,000 American and foreign university students, K-12 teachers, and university faculty and professionals who will participate in one of the several Fulbright exchange programs. Recipients of Fulbright Scholar awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their fields.
For more information, visit the CIES (Council for International Exchange of Scholars) Web site at www.cies.org. To speak with the UGA Fulbright campus representative, contact Page McCorkle at 706/542-0010 or pageme@uga.edu.