From University of Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Steve Stephenson, a visiting professor in the Department of Biological Sciences in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, traveled to Vietnam on a Fulbright Specialist Award in March 2014.
Stephenson, his wife Barbara and a number of Vietnamese students at the entrance of Cuc Phuong National Park, the oldest national park in Vietnam.
Stephenson shared findings from his work with a group of organisms called myxomycetes, also known as slime molds, with faculty members and students at Hanoi National University of Education, one of the largest universities in the country. His stay also included a presentation at the Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences and visits to two national parks.
Stephenson spent two weeks in Vietnam presenting seminars, holding workshops and developing potential collaborative research opportunities. Whereas other awards within the Fulbright Program may last several months or even years, the Fulbright Specialist Program grants are designed for short-term, collaborative projects. These shorter exchanges give specialists greater flexibility to pursue projects that work best within the context of their current academic or professional commitments.
Project requests are submitted by non-U.S. institutions and focus on strengthening and supporting institutions’ development needs and are awarded to U.S. faculty and professionals approved to join the specialist roster in select disciplines at eligible institutions in more than 140 countries worldwide. The Hanoi National University of Education formally requested Stephenson’s visit because education regarding myxomycetes is limited in the area. Only one other person, Hanh Thi My Tran, had been known to work with the organisms in Vietnam.
Stephenson served as external director for a portion of Hanh’s graduate studies who studied at the University of Arkansas three years ago as a Senior Fulbright Scholar. Hanh has returned to the university for the 2014-15 academic year on an International Fellowship from the American Association of University Women.
While at Hanoi National University, Stephenson presented a series of seminars to graduate and undergraduate students on global patterns of biodiversity, high-latitude ecosystems, the ecology of tropical forests and mycology. He also gave a workshop to faculty members on scientific writing as it relates to grant proposals and papers for publication and met with individual faculty members and graduate students to discuss and review their manuscripts and grant proposals.
Few of the students understood English, but all were motivated to learn as much as possible about scientific writing. Learning from an American professor is rare for these faculty and students, and most had never been taught the fundamentals of academic writing.
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