FARMINGTON — Chris Brinegar, a faculty member affiliated with the Department of Natural Sciences at the University of Maine at Farmington, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant by the United States Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to lecture and do research at Kathmandu University in Nepal during the 2008-2009 academic year.
While in Nepal, Brinegar, a plant molecular biologist and geneticist, will teach molecular biology, pursue research on the genetic identification of potato cultivars, and advise Kathmandu University faculty on the development of biotechnology curricula. A retired professor and former director of the Biotechnology Education and Research Institute at San Jose State University in California, he teaches environmental science at UMF. Brinegar received his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin and currently lives in New Portland, Maine.
Established in 1946, the Fulbright Scholar Program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world. Brinegar is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright Scholar Program. Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields.
Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program is America’s flagship international educational exchange program. Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has exchanged approximately 102,900 Americans who have studied, taught or researched abroad and 170,600 students, scholars and teachers from other countries who have engaged in similar activities in the United States. The program operates in over 150 countries worldwide.
