Alumni Profiles

Professor Daniel P. Aldrich Distinguished Chair

An award-winning author, Daniel has published five books, more than eighty peer-reviewed articles, and written op-eds for The New York Times, CNN and Asahi Shinbun, along with appearing on popular media outlets such as CNBC, MSNBC, NPR and the Huffington Post. He has spent more than five years carrying out fieldwork in Africa, Asia and the Middle East and his research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Fulbright Program and the Abe Foundation.

Daniel will use his Fulbright Distinguished Chair Scholarship to study how geographic and virtual social networks filter the information that we receive and how we act on that information.

Dr Kristine M. Larson Senior Scholars

Kristine is an emeritus professor of aerospace engineering sciences at the University of Colorado. Her research is centered on using GPS signals to study a variety of Earth processes such as ground deformation during earthquakes, plate tectonic motions, snow accumulation, and ocean tides. She will spend her Fulbright Scholarship at the Department of Geography and Spatial Sciences at the University of Tasmania. She is particularly interested in working with Australian scientists on making new GPS measurements in Antarctica. 

Kristine’s goal during this visit to Australia is to help establish a center of excellence for using GPS signals for environmental applications. 

Dr Hojun Song Senior Scholars

Hojun is an Associate Professor in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University. His research program focuses on understanding the global biodiversity of the insect order Orthoptera (grasshoppers, crickets, and katydids). He is also a leading expert in the study of swarming locusts, and his current research aims to understand the molecular basis of swarming in the Central American locust using various genomic tools. He has published over 50 scientific papers and several book chapters, and he received the prestigious NSF CAREER award in 2013.  

As a Fulbright Scholar, Hojun plans to study Australian grasshoppers at the CSIRO Australian National Insect Collection. Australia has a diverse grasshopper fauna, but no one has studied them for more than 20 years. His goal is to develop a long-term research program that will document the biodiversity of Australian grasshoppers and understand the evolutionary processes giving rise to the current diversity. 

Michael Jensen Professional Scholars

Michael serves as program and regulatory counsel for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, where he advises senior government officials on an extensive portfolio of building energy efficiency, sustainability, renewable energy, project funding, electricity delivery, vehicle technology, and greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. One of his primary responsibilities is serving as the legal point of contact for the implementation of federal energy performance contracts and other financing mechanisms for large-scale clean energy projects. Michael also serves as the regional applicant recruitment chair of the Cleantech Open—the world’s oldest and largest business accelerator program for emerging clean technology companies. Michael previously served as an environmental attorney, defending the government in litigation and advising program staff on issues involving federal and state environmental laws. He has worked in the highest levels of government, including a clerkship with a federal appeals court judge and positions at the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division. Michael is a frequent contributor to American Bar Association energy and environmental publications, has served as an editor on two policy-focused law reviews, and was awarded a Presidential Management Fellowship in which he served in a policymaking capacity at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Michael received a J.D. from the American University Washington College of Law and a B.A. from Bates College. In his spare time, Michael enjoys swimming, hiking, and singing off-key duets with his wife, Kathryn, to their unimpressed daughter, Haley. Michael and Kathryn are looking forward to living in Sydney, traveling throughout Australia, and introducing Haley to Vegemite.

Accelerated investment in clean energy solutions is needed to mitigate climate-related risks, yet institutional investors traditionally have not financed energy efficiency and renewable energy projects at a scale necessary to address this challenge. Innovative policies to encourage the development of robust secondary markets for clean energy loans thus are critical in attracting private sector capital investment in this arena. Secondary market financing only recently has proved successful under disparate state and local programs in the United States; however, each of these programs overcame significant policy and financial obstacles to deployment. Through his research and dialogue with government officials, academics, financiers, and the energy industry, Michael intends to discuss strategies to address these barriers and to foster cooperation between both Australia and the United States in adopting and promoting successful policies for clean energy finance.

Emma Barrett Postdoctoral Scholars

Emma grew up with her family in the grounds of the scenic Gladesville Psychiatric Hospital, established in 1838, on the Parramatta River in Sydney, Australia. Inspired by her mothers work there as a psychiatrist, Emma pursued a career in Psychology with a keen interest in the treatment of psychological trauma. During her Masters degree in Forensic Psychology she worked with a number of individuals within prison settings, most of whom had experienced serious trauma (often in their childhood) and were suffering from anxiety or depression, and substance misuse. It was at this time when Emma recognised an ever-growing need for psychological treatments to address both mental health and substance use disorders in an integrated fashion.

Emma completed her PhD at the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, University of New South Wales. Combining her clinical and research skills, she worked on a world-first randomised controlled trial of an integrated treatment for adults with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder. During her PhD candidature, Emma recognised the alarmingly high rates of childhood trauma among individuals with PTSD and substance use disorder and that these comorbid (i.e. co-occurring) disorders tended to develop during adolescence. These individuals, however, did not receive any treatment until much later in life, if at all. By adulthood the disorders and related harms were well established and it was clear that the chronic disability associated with the conditions may be reduced with effective early intervention. With a view to pursuing research in this area, Emma sought to improve her knowledge and skills in adolescent mental health at the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Mental Health and Substance. She was successful in obtaining a competitive Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the Centre and her passion for research into mental health and substance use comorbidity has continued to thrive.

To date, Emma’s research has contributed significantly to improving the understanding of comorbid PTSD and substance use and the related harms. She has published articles in leading peer-reviewed journals and her research has received national and international recognition at over 60 major scientific conferences. Most notably, in 2014 she was awarded the College of Problems on Drug Dependence (CPDD) Early Career Travel Award to present her research on mental health and substance use outcomes associated with child trauma at the CPDD Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico. In recognition of the quality and significance of her research, Emma has received a total of 15 travel grants and awards for scientific excellence. Emma is delighted to be awarded the Fulbright Scholarship as it will provide her with an unparalleled opportunity to work closely with leading comorbidity experts in the US to increase her knowledge and clinical skills, and to improve treatment options for individuals exposed to trauma.

During her time on a Fulbright Scholarship at the Medical University of South Carolina, Emma aims to develop and test an integrated psychological treatment for co-occurring traumatic stress and substance use among adolescents. She will work closely with international experts in this area to share knowledge, advance clinical research and foster strong, long-lasting research collaborations. Given the severe and chronic mental health consequences associated with trauma, research on the development of effective, theory-driven treatments for adolescents is of paramount public health importance. Upon her return to Australia, Emma will share her experiences and new knowledge, maintain the cross-national collaborations, and will strive to become a recognised leader in comorbidity research.

Dr Clare Stephens Postdoctoral Scholars

Clare is a postdoctoral researcher at the UNSW Water Research Centre. Her work focuses on the implications of climate change for water resources, specifically the complex interactions between landscape processes and climate that impact the hydrologic cycle.

She will use her Fulbright Scholarship to visit a leading ecohydrology group at the University of Virginia and learn how to better apply advanced modelling tools to simulate the Australian environment under change. This project aims to provide new insights into future shifts in vegetation growth, fire regimes and nutrient cycling across Australia’s unique landscapes, focussing on hydrologic impacts at the spatial scales most useful to water managers. Clare’s time at the University of Virginia will allow her to build valuable networks while enhancing her knowledge of important vegetation processes and adaptive strategies.

Melissa Ward Postdoctoral Scholars

Melissa recently graduated from University of California, Davis with her Ph.D. in Marine Ecology, where she studied how coastal habitats can serve to mitigate climate change. In particular, she investigated how seagrass meadows mitigate ocean acidification through photosynthesis – making it easier for oysters and other calcifying organisms to live in or near meadows.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Melissa will conduct related work on climate change solutions with Dr Peter Macreadie’s Blue Carbon Lab at Deakin University in Melbourne for ten months. Specifically, she will investigate how Australia’s mangroves, seagrass meadows, and tidal marshes sequester and store carbon in their underlying sediment for millennia. By reducing atmospheric CO2, these habitats serve to combat the impacts of climate change on coastal economies and environments. Melissa also plans to use her time in Australia to develop her international network and gain new perspectives on climate policy outside the U.S.

Yazan Arouri Postgraduate Students

Yazan is a current PhD candidate at the Australian School of Petroleum and Energy Resources in The University of Adelaide. He is passionate about improving human life through increasing access to affordable and sustainable energy resources. His research area focuses on developing and implementing optimization techniques for the sustainable and economical field development of natural resources, including oil and natural gas. Yazan’s research has garnered interest and enthusiasm from government and industry bodies, culminating in two prestigious scholarships.

As a Fulbright Scholar, Yazan aims at providing the technological innovations needed to shape the future of the Australian resource industry. Yazan will accomplish this by leveraging knowledge obtained through binational collaborations with world-class researchers in the area of field optimization at Stanford University. Yazan also hopes to forge new avenues for collaboration with his home and host institutions.

Kailin Graham Postgraduate Students

Kailin is passionate about combatting climate change through sustainable solutions in the energy sector. Graduating with 1st Class Honours from a Bachelor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering at the University of Queensland, Kailin aims to use his technical background to inform meaningful public policy, and currently works as a Policy Officer at the Association for Decentralised Energy in London, UK.

As a Fulbright Future Scholar, Kailin aims to develop the knowledge, network and leadership skills to drive change in Australia’s energy system and support ambitious Australian action on climate change. Kailin will study in MIT’s Technology and Policy Program, where his research will focus on using technical methods to address policy challenges in the energy and environment space.

Julian O'Shea Postgraduate Students

Julian is a designer, educator, social innovator and researcher within the Mobility Design Lab at Monash University. His project, Vehicle for Change, explores how sustainable vehicles – from solar tuk tuks to plastic bottle kayaks – can be used in public engagement and outreach. His Fulbright project will explore the design of e-bikes and scooters, incorporating the use of sustainable materials including bamboo – as well as video outreach and storytelling. Julian creates engaging educational video content for YouTube and TikTok, and was named the YouTube Breakout Creator for 2021 for his Unknown Melbourne series exploring urban design topics.

Lachlan Tegart Postgraduate Students

Lachlan is a PhD candidate at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research at the University of Tasmania. His research is examining the triggers of hay fever, a common and debilitating allergic disease. As part of his Fulbright Future Scholarship, Lachlan will be working with a world leader in aerobiology (the study of airborne biological particles that affect human health). He will be implementing a new technique called the Halogen Immunoassay. This will provide scientifically robust information about which pollen types are triggers of allergy symptoms. Importantly, this method is able to detect novel pollen allergens, including Australian native taxa that cannot be tested for using conventional techniques. 

Upon his return to Tasmania, Lachlan hopes that his training will help to contribute to the knowledge of aerobiology in Australia which can foster improvements in the diagnosis and treatment of hay fever and allergies. 

David Waddington Postgraduate Students

“My project presents an application of fundamental quantum nanoscience that could be used clinically within the foreseeable future.”

Mr David Waddington, a PhD candidate in physics from the University of Sydney, has won this year’s Fulbright ANSTO sponsored Scholarship. Through his Fulbright David will be hosted by the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences & Technology for 12 months to undertake research towards his PhD in physics.

“My project involves investigating the potential medical applications of quantum nanoscience,” David said.

“What I am aiming to do is to develop an entirely new bio-probe based on the detection and tracking of nontoxic nanoparticles in biological environments,” David said.

“Through manipulation of nuclear and electron spin states in nanodiamonds, this research aims to develop novel in-vivo imaging modalities based on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). This will enable nanoparticles to act as beacons within living tissues, allowing tracking and labeling of disease.”

“There are leading research groups in the U.S. working on imaging of hyperpolarized molecules. This scholarship will enable me to work with one of these groups, learning the skills and techniques required for biomedical imaging.”

David has a BSc in Physics with 1st Class Honours from the University of New South Wales. He has won awards and prizes including the University of New South Wales Medal in Physics and a University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor’s Research Scholarship. His interests include travel, skiing, cycling and rugby union.