Jul 21, 2017
BMBF-funded Fulbright-Cottrell Awards take off
Thanks to generous funding from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF), the second cohort of Fulbright-Cottrell scholars officially initiated their granteeship on July 1. The prestigious three-year grant had been awarded during the annual Fulbright Ceremony 2017 in March.
Since 1994, the U.S.-based Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) has bestowed the Cottrell Award to outstanding “teacher-scholars” in the fields of Chemistry, Physics and Astronomy. Emulating this successful teaching award, the Fulbright-Cottrell Award consists of two components: a grant of 63.000 € to fund a three-year teaching and research project at the scholars’ home institutions; and travel funds of 5.000 € to allow for participation in at least two of the annual Cottrell Scholar Conferences in Tucson, Arizona. At these conferences, the new scholars are welcomed into the Cottrell network and get the opportunity to start working on joint projects.
2016 Fulbright-Cottrell awardees Jun.-Prof. Dr. Olalla Vázquez (Chemistry, Univ. of Marburg) and PD Dr. Sebastian Slama (Physics, Univ. of Tübingen) and this year's prizewinner, the biochemist Dr. Ute Hellmich (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz) participated in this year's Cottrell Conference in Tucson, Arizona, June 12-14.
Taking up the conference theme “More Viewpoints, Better Science,” Geraldine Richmond, Presidential Chair in Science and a professor of chemistry at the University of Oregon, delivered the keynote address and underlined that advanced scientific research flourishes in an inclusive and supportive work environment. In keeping with the themes of diversity and inclusiveness, conference breakout sessions were facilitated by experts in women, LGBT, and underrepresented minorities’ issues.
“Fulbright-Cottrellee” Ute Hellmich returned from Tucson full of energy and ideas: “It was fantastic to have so many people in one place that are equally passionate about research and teaching.”
