14
April
2014
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13:55 PM
America/Chicago

Physics Professor Receives Prestigious Fulbright Award

The William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) recently granted Janusz Grebowicz, associate professor of natural sciences at the University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), with a prestigious Fulbright award to research hybrid nuclear-shale energy systems at AGH University of Science and Technology in Krakow, Poland.

At the invitation of three separate AGH University deans, Grebowicz will join the departments of Drilling Oil and Gas, Energy and Fuels, and Material Science and Ceramics during the fall 2014 and spring 2015 semesters. While in residence, he will research thermal properties of oil shales at high temperatures and the application of nuclear energy in extraction of natural hydrocarbons.

"I am extremely honored to receive the esteemed Fulbright award and to have the opportunity to work with world-renowned colleagues in Krakow to contribute to our understanding of oil shales in hybrid energy systems, and high temperature materials for application in this technology," said Grebowicz. "My research at AGH University is a natural extension of the work I currently do with UHD natural science students, and I look forward to bringing my experiences in Polish labs back to my classroom in Houston."

Grebowicz joins a distinguished group of Fulbright alumni, many of whom have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs and university presidents, as well as noted journalists, artists, professors and teachers. Forty-three Fulbright recipients have earned Nobel Prizes. Since its inception more than 60 years ago, approximately 300,000 Fulbright scholars have participated in the program.

FSB Chair Tom Healy notes that Fulbright award winners, "…help fulfill the principal purpose of the Fulbright Program, which is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of the more than 150 countries that currently participate in the Fulbright Program."

Fulbright grants are made possible through funds appropriated by the U.S. Congress and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and/or the private sector.

Past UHD Fulbright recipients include Jane Creighton, associate professor of English (Poland); Robin Davidson, associate professor of English (Poland); Jean DeWitt, associate professor of Arts & Humanities (Mauritius); Patricia Golemon, assistant professor of English (Taiwan); Anne Kane, assistant professor of social sciences (Ireland); Suzette Mouchaty, lecturer of natural sciences (Sweden); and Joann Pavletich, associate professor of English (Madagascar).

"I - and the entire UHD community - highly commend Dr. Grebowicz for his outstanding accomplishment of a Fulbright award," said Bill Flores, president of the University of Houston-Downtown. "His award further extends his reputation as a preeminent researcher and professor, and brings additional distinction to UHD as a place of high-impact learning with real-world applications."

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