For 75 years, The Fulbright Program has fostered mutual understanding between different cultures and nations by connecting faculty, administrators, and students in the U.S. and around the world through educational and cultural exchange. This roundtable discussion, moderated by an Alumni Ambassador Jeffrey Johnson (Chile, 2014-15), will feature Fulbright alumni in the geosciences sharing their experiences as practitioners in the field abroad. They will reflect on their experience pursuing these opportunities as faculty and researchers in the geosciences, speaking to positive impacts – professionally and personally – as well as challenges they encountered and lessons learned. As an active discussion, session participants will have the chance to ask questions to further explore the Fulbright experience of the panel.

AGU members and conference participants will be able to hear directly from their peers to gain a complete picture of the impact of the Fulbright experience of program alumni in the geosciences. This relates directly to all three stated strategic goals of the American Geophysical Union. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program “catalyzes discovery and solutions to scientific and societal challenges”, as it connects American scientists to their counterparts around the world to develop solutions to global issues in their field. Similarly, providing U.S. faculty and researchers international research connections allows them to develop sustainable partnerships with universities and research institutions outside the United States. In turn, these collaborative relationships allow them to “partner broadly with other organizations and sectors to effectively address scientific and societal challenges.” The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program also encourages the participation of diverse scholars as well as those whose universities serve underrepresented student populations, as this is critical to maximizing the impact of the Scholar Program, all of which “promotes and exemplifies an inclusive scientific culture”. Many fellowships for U.S. faculty in STEM focus exclusively on the science at hand; the Fulbright Program certainly does, but coupled with the role participants play as cultural ambassadors of the United States abroad and connecting with their host institutions and communities. This roundtable discussion will showcase just what can be possible when active researchers and faculty in the geosciences pursue these opportunities through Fulbright.

Moderating this session will be Jeffrey Johnson, PhD, Associate Professor of Geophysics at Boise State University and Alumni Ambassador of the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. Dr. Johnson’s primary research interests include multi-disciplinary geophysical study of eruptive processes, infrasound science and sensor development, and volcano monitoring. He is currently collaborating with the National Geographic Society on “Chasing Magma”, a storytelling grant focuses on telling STEM stories of scientists who are studying exploding volcanoes. Other current research projects include Yellowstone National Park and Hawaii volcanoes. He served as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Chile in academic year 2014-15.