ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University graduate student Jennifer DeMuria has won a Fulbright grant to study and catalog a species of tree violets in Indonesia during the 2003-2004 academic year. DeMuria is a master's student in Environmental and Plant Biology and Southeast Asian Studies. Through her work she hopes to help conserve these rare violets and contribute to future conservation of other rare species.
"It would be really nice to draw attention to these unique organisms and to use them as a model for conservation," said DeMuria. She says the violets could potentially be used in reclamation of areas that have been degraded by mining and forestry. DeMuria intends to pursue a Ph.D. in Environmental and Plant Biology and plans to work on international conservation projects. DeMuria credits her interest in violets to her adviser, Harvey Ballard, assistant professor in the Department of Environmental and Plant Biology.
Assistant director of the Center for International Studies and Ohio University's U.S. Fulbright Program advisor Beth Clodfelter said, "Jennifer has strong academic preparation in plant biology, research experience, an understanding of Indonesian culture and Indonesian language skills. She had done preliminary research on this topic at her project sites and saw the Fulbright competition as a way to fund the investigative work that she knew she wanted to complete. Both she and her project are deserving of this prestigious national award."
DeMuria earned her Bachelor's degree in anthropology at Ohio University. She spent last summer studying in Indonesia through on a scholarship from the United States Indonesian Society and she has continued her study of the Indonesian language at Ohio University as the recipient of a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship.
This year seven Ohio University students were recommended to the final round of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. This is the highest number of recommended students that Ohio University has had in this prestigious national competition in the last ten years. These students represent programs in three colleges, as well as the Center for International Studies.
The remaining candidates will each find out sometime in the next few months whether they will actually receive a Fulbright award. Those who do will spend the 2003-2004 academic year abroad working on projects funded by the Fulbright program.
Beth Clodfelter, Ohio University's Fulbright Program adviser, commends all of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program applicants. "The hard work, talent and potential that they demonstrated were exemplary, as was their initiative in deciding to apply in the first place," Clodfelter said. "The Institute for International Education has confirmed that more applications were submitted in the nationwide program this year than at any time in the last 50 years, so our applicants were facing what was statistically the toughest Fulbright competition ever."
Students interested in applying for the 2004-2005 Fulbright U.S. Student Program, who are U.S. citizens and who will be seniors, masters or doctoral students next fall are invited to attend one of the following Fulbright U.S. Student Program information sessions in Baker Center Room 332:
- Tuesday, April 1 at 4 p.m.
- Wednesday, April 2 at 3 p.m.
- Friday, April 4 at 10 a.m.
For more information, please contact Clodfelter at (740) 593-2302 or clodfele@ohio.edu or visit Ohio University's Fulbright Web page at www.ohiou.edu/internationalstudies/fulbright/fulbright.htm.
