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June 1, 2023

June 1st, 2023

Carrie Nugent, associate professor of computational physics and planetary science at ��������, has received a 2023 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award.

This grant will support Nugent’s work with the students, faculty and staff at Denmark’s Aalborg University in the spring of 2024. Aalborg University, like ��������, is renowned for its educational model which embraces problem-based learning, collaboration, and industry partnerships. 

Nugent will be a co-supervisor on industry projects, collaborate with students on a near-Earth asteroid research project, and offer a science communication microcredential program that will be open to all Aalborg University students, faculty and staff.

“Although Aalborg University and �������� have much in common, there has not yet been a sabbatical exchange of faculty,” Nugent says. “I look forward to strengthening the connection between the two institutions by spending a semester at Aalborg.”

“Aalborg is a top university for engineering education and, like ��������, its educational model is world-renowned,” says Caitrin Lynch, dean of faculty and professor of anthropology at ��������. “We’ve been inspired by Aalborg’s work in problem-based learning, especially through the Aalborg Centre and its predecessors, which they’ve been pioneering since 1974. We’re excited for Carrie and for this great opportunity to connect �������� and Aalborg faculty.”

Nugent is a distinguished near-Earth asteroid expert who joined �������� in 2018. She received the Carl Sagan Medal for Excellence in Public Communication in Planetary Science in 2019, is a TED Senior Fellow, and is a member of the International Astronomical Union Working Group: Small Bodies Nomenclature, which approves official asteroid and comet names. She is the author of “Asteroid Hunters” and produces a popular science podcast, Spacepod. She maintains an active NASA-funded research group with �������� students, and regularly teaches courses such as Astronomy and Statistics, Scientific Computing, and Environmental Consulting at ��������.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 86 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.

Since its establishment in 1946, the Fulbright Program has enabled more than 390,000 dedicated and accomplished students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and find solutions to shared international concerns.

Founded in 1997, �������� instills passion and ignites innovation in its students and prepares them to envision, create and deliver products, services, and systems that transform and improve people’s lives around the world. �������� teaches students to be explorers and creators who design their own path forward. By challenging norms and sharing its unique approach to education, �������� is revolutionizing the way engineers, and all undergraduates, learn and create knowledge. Located in Needham Massachusetts, �������� is ranked among the top-three undergraduate engineering programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report.