IUPUC professor chosen for Fulbright program

James Mendez. Photo courtesy of IUPUC

An IUPUC professor has been chosen for the elite Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in chemistry for this academic year.

The school announced this week that IUPUC assistant professor and Division of Science Head, James Mendez has been chosen by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.

Fulbright Scholars engage in cutting-edge research and often continue research collaborations abroad, laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.

In February 2023, Mendez will travel to Bratislava, Slovakia to work with a scientist at the Slovak Academy of Sciences, on a system for 3D printing composites made from chitin, a naturally occurring polymer.

In 2017, Mendez received a Fulbright to teach a graduate class in biopolymers in Estonia as well as to continue research with chitin from underutilized sources in that region.

More than 800 U.S. scholars, artists, and professionals from all backgrounds teach or conduct research overseas through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program annually.