2025 Fulbright Scholar Award Recipients Announced

Several University of Minnesota faculty members have been selected as recipients of the 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award. The scholars will conduct research while abroad while also engaging in other activities like teaching courses, presenting public talks, and offering mentorship.

Kathleen Collins

Professor Kathleen Collins (Twin Cities, Political Science) will study pathways of post-communist military reforms and their implications for geopolitics in Eurasia. She will explore why some postcommunist states engaged in deep military (defense) reform, whereas others did not. She will consider when and how defense reform substantively transforms communist military culture, training, and institutions, and when it stalls or fails. The implications of military reform for democracy, NATO, and the nature of potential conflict in Eurasia are enormous. With a Fulbright Global Scholar research award, Collins will conduct research in three countries: Poland, Estonia, and Kazakhstan.

Brian Dingmann

Associate Professor Brian Dingmann (Crookston, Math, Science, and Technology Department) will conduct research investigating a biopolymer produced by rotifers, or microscopic aquatic animals. He will be hosted by the University of Szeged in Hungary during Fall 2025 as part of the Fulbright-University of Szeged Scholar Award. During the semester in Hungary, Dingmann will teach a master’s-level Ecotoxicology course, co-taught with University of Minnesota Crookston Associate Professor Katy Chapman. The course, which focuses on the effects of toxic substances on ecosystems, will utilize the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) framework connecting students in Crookston and Szeged in a joint educational experience. Students from both institutions will engage in shared learning projects, gain cross-cultural competencies, and explore environmental issues from a global perspective.

James Forester

Associate Professor James Forester (Twin Cities, Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology) will work with researchers from the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul to understand how the infectious disease brucellosis spreads among cattle, feral hogs, and the threatened Pampas deer in Brazil's Pantanal. By tracking animal movement and estimating population densities, the project will create models to identify geographic hotspots where disease transmission is most likely to occur. The results will help inform grazing management strategies to protect wildlife and reduce the economic and health impacts of the disease on livestock and humans.

Nathan Johnson

Professor Nathan Johnson (Duluth, Civil and Environmental Engineering) will collaborate with scientists in South Korea on sustainable approaches to contaminant remediation. Hosted by the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the project will focus on advancing innovative strategies to address widespread mercury contamination—an urgent environmental and public health challenge in both nations. 

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin

Professor Fionnuala Ní Aoláin (Twin Cities, Minnesota Law) will conduct research primarily at the law school of Universidad Rey Juan Carlos in Madrid, Spain. It will focus on surveillance technologies, particularly the European capacity to regulate the use of commercial mercenary spyware, which poses both human rights and security threats to European democracy and the rule of law. In light of global multilateral challenges, addressing Europe's regulatory role is crucial to advancing the rule of law and maintaining the integrity of the multilateral system.