ISU engineering professor Chikashi Sato awarded Fulbright Scholar grant to teach, do research in Nepal

Chikashi Sato, professor of environmental engineering at Idaho State University, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to teach and do research at Tribhuvan University in Prithvi Narayan Campus, Pokhara, Nepal.

Sato will spend about 80 percent of his time teaching students environmental science and engineering by addressing issues of water quality and proposing possible solutions to improve water quality and human health standards in their country. He will devote the rest of his time to initiating research activities in the development of sustainable water treatment in collaboration with Idaho State University.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S Government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United State and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U. S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 155 countries worldwide.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solution to shared international concerns.

Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in government, science, the arts, business, philanthropy, education and athletics. Forty-three Fulbright alumni from 11 countries have been awarded the Nobel Prize and 75 alumni have received Pulitzer Prizes. Prominent Fulbright alumni include: Muhammad Yunus, managing director and founder, Grameen Bank, and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient; John Atta Mills, president of Ghana; Lee Evans, Olympic Gold Medalist; Ruth Simmons, president, Brown University; Riccardo Giacconi, physicist and 2002 Nobel Laureate; Amar Gopal Bose, chairman and founder, Bose Corporation; Renée Fleming, soprano; Jonathan Franzen, writer; and Daniel Libeskind, architect.

Fulbright recipients are among more than 40,000 individuals participating in U.S. Department of State exchange programs each year. For more than 60 years, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has funded and supported programs that seek to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a division of the Institute of International Education.

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit the website http://fulbright.state.gov or contact James A. Lawrence, Office of Academic Exchange Programs, telephone 202-632-3241 or email fulbright@state.gov.

###