Fulbright Specialists Making an Impact

Fulbright Iceland welcomed four Fulbright Specialists in the fall semester. Landscape architect Nathan Thomson from the U.S. National Park Service came in September to work with Vatnajökull National Park on evaluating needs and developing green infrastructure as the park encounters increasing number of visitors and various effects of climate change.

Also in September, Kristi Rudelius-Palmer from the University of Minnesota came to assist colleagues at the University of Iceland School of Education to expand the human rights education.

Jason Beckfield from Harvard University came in October as a part of the Fulbright Health Exchange to work on collaborative research with the sociology department at the University of Iceland. In connection to Dr. Beckfield’s visit, the Commission in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy sponsored a lunchtime talk where he and fellow Fulbright Health Exchange grantee Sigrún Ólafsdóttir introduced their research on Icelanders’ and American’s attitudes toward policy responses to COVID-19.

Fulbright Iceland alumna Wanda Gregory (Fulbright-NSF scholar 2022) returned as a Specialist in November to teach an intensive course examining societal and ethical implications of emerging technologies for graduate students at Reykjavik University.

A variety of Icelandic institutions can receive a Fulbright specialist, including universities, research institutes and a wide array of other public institutions, including ministries, local governmental bodies, museums, and public service institutions.

To read more about the Specialist program, and how Icelandic institutions can host a U.S. Specialist, click here.