8 UW faculty and staff named Fulbright Scholars; will conduct research around the world
Our take
The news of eight University of Washington faculty and staff being named Fulbright Scholars for 2026-2027 is undeniably exciting, a testament to the depth of research and intellectual rigor emanating from Seattle. It's a win for UW, of course, but it's also a win for the broader academic community and, frankly, for the pursuit of knowledge itself. We’ve been covering stories highlighting the complexities within higher education recently, like the unsettling look inside Inside the ‘Culture of Fear’ at One American-Chinese University, and it’s important to acknowledge that achievements like these often stand in contrast to those challenges, reminding us of the potential for positive impact when institutions foster genuine inquiry and collaboration. The Fulbright program, with its emphasis on international exchange and cross-cultural understanding, feels particularly relevant given the ongoing need for nuanced global perspectives. And speaking of impact, a recent study showcased Roadless rule helps protect clean drinking water for 25 million Americans, new study shows, demonstrating how research can tangibly benefit communities—a principle that Fulbright Scholars inherently embody.
The breadth of disciplines represented within this year’s cohort—sciences, engineering, business, environmental sciences, computer science—underscores the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to solving complex problems. While specialized expertise is vital, it’s increasingly clear that the most significant breakthroughs occur at the intersection of fields. This isn’t just about academic curiosity; it’s about building a more resilient and adaptable future. The Fulbright program’s emphasis on building connections and gaining international insights is crucial in a world facing interconnected challenges like climate change, global health crises, and economic instability. These scholars won’t just be conducting research; they’ll be forging relationships, sharing knowledge, and contributing to a more collaborative global landscape. It’s a model for how universities can position themselves not just as centers of learning, but as active participants in addressing global needs. The recent announcement of Former Vice President Mike Pence to visit Spokane to receive WSU award highlights the varied and sometimes unexpected ways universities engage with public figures, but the Fulbright program represents a more fundamentally academic and research-driven form of engagement.
Beyond the immediate prestige and individual gains for the scholars themselves, this development signals a continued commitment to international engagement within Washington's higher education system. It suggests a prioritization of research that transcends borders and seeks to address global challenges. The return of these scholars, bringing with them new perspectives and experiences, will undoubtedly enrich the learning environment for future generations of students. It’s an investment in intellectual capital and a recognition that global collaboration is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. The program’s enduring appeal lies in its ability to foster genuine understanding and build bridges between cultures, something desperately needed in an increasingly polarized world. It’s also a powerful reminder that impactful research isn't confined to the laboratory; it's about sharing knowledge and engaging with communities both near and far.
Looking ahead, it will be interesting to observe how these Fulbright Scholars integrate their international experiences into their teaching and research, and what impact their work will have on their respective fields. Will we see a shift in curriculum, a new emphasis on global perspectives, or the development of collaborative research projects that span continents? The Fulbright program has a long history of producing influential leaders and innovators, and it’s worth watching to see how this latest cohort will contribute to advancing knowledge and shaping the future. Perhaps more importantly, this success should prompt a wider conversation about how universities can best support and cultivate a culture of international engagement and impactful research, ensuring that opportunities like these are accessible to a diverse range of scholars.
Eight University of Washington researchers have been selected as Fulbright Scholars for 2026-2027 and will pursue studies around the world.
Fulbright Scholars are college and university faculty, administrators and researchers, as well as artists and professionals, who build their skills and connections, gain valuable international insights and return home to share their experiences with their students and colleagues.
This year’s UW cohort represents a variety of disciplines, including sciences, engineering, business, environmental sciences, electrical and computer engineering, and computer science. The scholars will conduct research across the globe, including in Australia, India, Indonesia, Western Europe, Scandinavia and East Asia.
Two-thirds of this year’s UW applicants were selected as Fulbright Scholars — an astonishing acceptance rate in the prestigious and highly selective program.
“We are incredibly proud of these outstanding University of Washington faculty and staff whose selection as Fulbright Scholars reflects the excellence, innovation and global impact of their work,” said UW Vice Provost for Global Affairs Ahmad M. Ezzeddine. “The knowledge, partnerships and cultural understanding they gain through these experiences will enrich the UW and strengthen our shared commitment to addressing global challenges through collaboration and discovery. As the Fulbright Program celebrates its 80th anniversary, we are grateful for the U.S. Department of State’s continued investment in this transformative program.”
The Fulbright Scholar Program for academics and professionals supports more than 800 people to teach and conduct research abroad.
This year’s UW Fulbright Scholars are:
Berry Brosi is a professor in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences. His research focuses on how mutually beneficial interactions between species — such as how insects pollinating plants is beneficial to both — scale into networks involving multiple species, and how the structure of those networks affects ecosystems. For example, some ecological network structures, or how connections between species are arranged, make these networks more resilient to perturbations, such as droughts or climate change.
Brosi’s Fulbright Scholar award will be through Spain’s flagship public research institution, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, at the Doñana Biological Station in Seville. His work there will involve synthesizing and analyzing two comprehensive long-term datasets — one from his lab and one from his Spanish host lab — to better understand global patterns in pollination networks. In particular, scientists have recorded species that appear to be “specialists” — such as a bee species that has only been recorded visiting one plant species — in many ecological networks, but, without long-term data, it’s difficult to disentangle whether they are really specialists or just rare. Brosi will tackle this problem in collaboration with his Fulbright host, Ignasi Bartomeus, at Doñana.
Kalei Combs is the director of academic services in the Department of Bioengineering in the College of Engineering and UW Medicine. She supports the department’s doctoral students with a focus on improving the research experience, expanding opportunities and advancing access and collaboration.
While a Fulbright Scholar, she will develop a framework for a new doctoral biomedical research exchange between the UW and Tampere University in Finland. Combs will work with faculty, students and staff at both universities to lead the development of a preliminary structure of a doctoral research exchange, including eligibility criteria, mentorship plans and evaluation metrics. She will also explore funding sources for the program’s ongoing sustainability and draft a memorandum of understanding for the institutions to consider.
Alicia DeSantola, an assistant professor of management and organization and the Helen Moore Gerhardt Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship in the Foster School of Business. Her areas of expertise include entrepreneurship, organizational growth and scaling, technology and innovation strategy, and venture capital. DeSantola teaches entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial strategy to undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students. She was named a Poets & Quants top 50 undergraduate business professor in 2021.
DeSantola will use her Fulbright award, during which she will be a visiting U.S. Scholar to University College Cork in Ireland, to study factors influencing innovation and entrepreneurship in novel food technologies. The project connects to a broader stream of DeSantola’s research exploring the emergence and evolution of new technology-based industries.
Kristen M. Green is an interdisciplinary scientist in the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs in the College of the Environment. Her work focuses on how coastal communities adapt to climate change and other environmental and socioeconomic stressors, particularly within fisheries and aquaculture systems. During the past 15 years, she has worked with coastal populations, including Indigenous harvesters, to support food sovereignty and long-term approaches to adaptation and resilience.
Greene’s Fulbright award is to advance the inclusion of fish and other aquatic foods — “Blue Foods” — into Indonesia’s National School Lunch Program. The goal of this project is to improve nutritional outcomes for school-aged children while strengthening local food systems. Through working directly with fishers and fish suppliers, Green will work with the project team to identify the conditions necessary to provide Blue Foods that promote positive nutritional outcomes for children, support local fishers and sustain local ecosystems. This project is a pilot program for the initiative that will hopefully be expanded nationally.
Tanushree Mitra is an associate professor in the Information School and also is part of the Responsibility in AI Systems and Experiences (RAISE) Center. An interdisciplinary scholar with expertise in human-centered AI, Mitra’s work draws on human-computer interaction, machine learning, natural language processing and social science to understand how people and AI interact in large-scale online systems. Her research examines the societal impacts of generative AI and develops methods to make AI systems more trustworthy, culturally aware and beneficial for diverse communities.
She will use her Fulbright award in India, where she will collaborate with researchers at the Centre for Machine Intelligence and Data Science (C-MInDS) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay) — the nation’s topmost and most selective public research institution. She will investigate the risks and capabilities of generative AI systems across socio-cultural contexts most relevant to the Global South. The work aims to advance more culturally aware and responsible AI while strengthening research partnerships between the United States and India.
Robert Morris is an associate professor in the School of Oceanography in the College of the Environment. Morris’ research uses cultivation and whole-genome DNA sequencing to identify the roles of bacteria in global nutrient cycles. With a focus on carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, he has conducted studies that show the effects of low dissolved oxygen on the nutrient cycling activities of the ocean’s most abundant organisms.
During his time at Inha University in South Korea, Morris will pursue a project entitled, “High-throughput cultivation-based genomics of freshwater Chloroflexota.” A key goal is to advance understanding of the evolution of this important group of bacteria and its potential to mediate key nutrient transformations.
Amy Orsborn is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the College of Engineering. She leads a neural engineering lab focused on motor brain-computer interfaces, or BCIs. Her work combines experiments with computational methods to develop new ways to build BCIs that interact with plasticity in the brain.
During her stay at the Champalimaud Institute Centre for Restorative Neurotechnology in Portugal, she will collaborate with two researchers, Dr. Juan Álvaro Gallego and Dr. John Krakauer. The new projects aim to improve our understanding of how plasticity shapes brain dynamics and apply new BCI algorithms for stroke rehabilitation.
Chirag Shah is a professor in the Information School and an adjunct professor in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering in the College of Engineering. He is the founding director of the InfoSeeking Lab and founding co-director of RAISE, the Center for Responsibility in AI Systems & Experiences. His research focuses on agentic AI, human-centered information seeking and responsible AI, examining how intelligent systems can act on people’s behalf while remaining transparent, trustworthy and accountable. He is also the founder and CEO of VersarAI, a startup translating his research on AI agents into enterprise applications. His book, “Agent Nation,” was published this year.
Shah will use his Fulbright Distinguished Chair in Entrepreneurship and Innovation at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, to study how agentic AI can responsibly power entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems. Working with RMIT researchers and Australia’s startup community, he will investigate what he calls the Delegation Paradox: the tension between the efficiency gained by delegating tasks to AI agents and the oversight, trust and accountability that delegation demands. The work aims to produce frameworks that help founders, enterprises and policymakers adopt AI agents in ways that drive innovation without sacrificing human agency.
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