3 Pitt faculty have been named Fulbright scholars

Three University of Pittsburgh faculty members have received Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Awards from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

“The University of Pittsburgh is proud of our long-standing partnership with the Fulbright Program, including distinction as a top producer,” Chancellor Joan Gabel said. “Our exceptional faculty members who participate not only work to build partnerships, but also then endlessly enrich the Pittsburgh campus when they return home.”

Gabel is chair of the Fulbright Scholar Advisory Board of the Comparative and International Education Society, an independent body providing administration and strategic guidance to the Institute of International Education, and is also a 2018 Fulbright alum, having studied higher education practices in India.

Fulbright U.S. Scholars are faculty, researchers, administrators and established professionals who teach or conduct research in affiliation with institutions abroad. These scholars engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks — often continuing collaborations that started abroad and laying the groundwork for future international partnerships.

"The Fulbright Program has been one of the most influential and prestigious programs for supporting research and teaching, while also fostering meaningful cultural exchanges and understanding,” said Allyson Delnore, Pitt Fulbright scholar liaison and interim executive director of the University Center for International Studies. “These awards are yet another demonstration of the impressive international activities that Pitt faculty from many different schools engage in every day."

Fulbright experiences — whether in teaching, research or international education administration — have a lasting impact not only abroad but also on home campuses. Scholars return with global insights, new collaborations and fresh perspectives that enrich classrooms, inspire students and strengthen institutional internationalization efforts.

Keep scrolling to meet the awardees:

Guillermo Calero Velazquez, associate professor in the School of Medicine’s Department of Structural Biology, will collaborate with scientists in Granada, Spain, on identifying small drug fragments that can inhibit the Ras oncogene, a protein involved in nearly 30% of human cancers. Using advanced X-ray crystallography, he creates detailed “molecular movies” of Ras’ activity cycle to help prevent uncontrolled cell growth.

Jennifer Brick Murtazashvili, professor in the School of Public and International Affairs and director of the Center for Governance and Markets, will serve as distinguished scholar at Tel Aviv University in Israel, where she will study how formal agreements and informal networks shape regional cooperation in the Middle East, Central Eurasia and Eastern Europe.

Aleksandar Stevanovic, associate professor in the Swanson School of Engineering’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will travel to Podgorica, Montenegro, to assist the city government and local university in designing and implementing an adaptive traffic signal control system. His project combines research, collaboration and teaching to optimize the system and train local professionals for its long-term maintenance.