FAU Celebrates Six Fulbright Scholars for 2026-27 Academic Year

World, Globe

By gisele galoustian | 7/9/2026

Florida Atlantic University is proud to announce that six faculty and staff members have received prestigious Fulbright awards for the 2026-27 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. The honorees will pursue teaching, research and international engagement opportunities in India, Ireland, Poland, Spain, Guatemala and France, advancing global scholarship while strengthening FAU’s international partnerships and impact.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational and cultural exchange initiative. Designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and those of other countries, Fulbright provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from more than 160 countries and locations to study, teach, conduct research and collaborate on issues of global importance.

The program marks its 80th anniversary in 2026, coinciding with America’s 250th anniversary celebration. Over the past eight decades, Fulbright alumni have included 46 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners and 83 MacArthur Fellows. Fulbright U.S. Scholars are selected based on their academic and professional achievements, as well as the potential impact of their proposed projects abroad.

FAU’s 2026-27 Fulbright recipients represent a wide range of disciplines and expertise, from engineering and public health to marketing and music, political science and technology development.

Madasamy Arockiasamy, Ph.D., professor, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatics Engineering; director, Center for Infrastructure and Constructed Facilities, FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science: As a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award, Arockiasamy will spend the spring semester during the 2026-27 academic year at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, one of India’s premier engineering institutions. His project will combine teaching, research, enhancement of geo-spatial science/engineering, professional collaboration, and strengthening academic partnerships between the U.S. and India.

Arockiasamy will co-teach courses, mentor graduate students, lead workshops and seminars, and contribute to curriculum enhancement initiatives. His research will focus on developing an advanced geo-artificial intelligence that integrates satellite imagery, geographic information systems and AI/ machine learning technologies to improve hazard prediction, disaster risk reduction, coastal monitoring, sustainable agriculture, water resource management and Blue Economy applications. The resulting tools have the potential to support decision-making in both the U.S. and India, particularly in regions vulnerable to climate-related risks.

An internationally recognized authority in structural and civil engineering, Arockiasamy has more than 40 years of academic, research and professional experience spanning North America and India. His research has advanced knowledge through sponsored research by NSF, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department of War, National Academy of Sciences (NCHRP), Florida Department of Transportation, American Petroleum, and NASA with focus on STEM education, structural mechanics, bridge infrastructure systems, offshore and coastal engineering, renewable energy, infrastructure monitoring and sustainable coastal protection. A registered professional engineer in multiple U.S. states and Canada, he has authored and edited numerous books and technical proceedings and published extensively in leading engineering journals. His many honors include Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award, State University System of Florida Professorial Excellence Program Award, the John J. Guarrera Engineering Educator of the Year Award and the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award.

Timothy De Ver Dye, Ph.D., chair and professor, Department of Population Health, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine: De Ver Dye will undertake a Fulbright project at the University of Bialystok in Poland, where he will work with the institution’s Faculties of Law and Medicine to develop rapid field-assessment tools and research frameworks for evaluating the needs and circumstances of populations displaced by armed conflict and regional instability. Located near the borders of Belarus and Ukraine, Bialystok has experienced significant migration pressures resulting from geopolitical conflict and instability. De Ver Dye’s work will help legal and medical professionals better assess the cultural, social and structural factors affecting displaced populations, strengthening the evidence base for legal services, public health interventions and policy development. The project also will foster collaboration between law and medicine in addressing complex humanitarian challenges.

A medical ecologist, epidemiologist and population health researcher, De Ver Dye’s career has spanned multiple disciplines and more than 30 countries. His scholarship bridges anthropology, epidemiology, informatics and law to address some of the world’s most pressing public health challenges. He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed publications, earned more than 5,000 citations and led research addressing maternal and child health, infectious and chronic disease, environmental exposures and disaster response. A former CDC epidemiologist, De Ver Dye has held leadership positions at the University of Rochester, University of Hawai’i, Syracuse University and SUNY Upstate Medical University. He serves as editor-in-chief of Springer Nature’s Maternal and Child Health Journal and is a fellow of numerous national and international professional societies. De Ver Dye also becomes the first faculty member from FAU’s Schmidt College of Medicine to receive a Fulbright award.

Melanie Lorenz, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing; Harry T. Mangurian Fellow; director, Behavioral Insights Lab, FAU College of Business: As a Fulbright Senior Scholar, Lorenz will spend the fall semester at Universidad Politécnica de Madrid in Spain, where she will teach a master’s-level course titled “International Marketing in the Digital Economy.” The program brings together students from leading polytechnic universities across Europe and provides a platform for examining how rapidly evolving technologies are transforming global business and consumer behavior.

In addition to teaching, Lorenz will deliver research seminars and collaborate with international faculty and students on projects at the intersection of services, global marketing and innovation ecosystems. Her work will promote cross-cultural dialogue and strengthen academic partnerships while advancing Fulbright’s mission of fostering mutual understanding through international educational exchange.

Lorenz is a nationally recognized marketing scholar whose research explores service innovation, global marketing strategy and consumer decision-making. More recently, her work has expanded into emerging areas such as AI-mediated decision-making and behavioral insights. As director of FAU’s Behavioral Insights Lab, she leads research that examines how individuals and organizations make decisions in increasingly complex environments. Her scholarship has appeared in leading academic journals and has received recognition at the college, national and international levels, with several projects garnering attention from major media outlets. In the classroom, Lorenz teaches undergraduate international marketing courses and doctoral seminars, mentors doctoral students and chairs multiple dissertations. Her longstanding commitment to global engagement, cultural understanding and international collaboration aligns closely with the Fulbright Program’s mission.

Stacie Lee Rossow, D.M.A., professor and associate director, choral and vocal studies; associate chair, Department of Music, FAU Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters: Rossow has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Ireland, where she will partner with the Irish Institute of Music and Song and Maynooth University. Her project, “Irish in Song: A Global Resource for Revitalization,” seeks to preserve and revitalize the endangered Irish language (Gaeilge) through the traditional sean-nós singing tradition. Rossow will document and transcribe songs from multiple Irish dialect regions, develop singer-friendly pronunciation resources and create new choral arrangements that make Irish-language music more accessible to performers and educators worldwide. She also will present lectures, workshops and choral conducting certification courses, strengthening international collaboration through scholarship, performance and cultural exchange.

An accomplished conductor, educator and scholar, Rossow has served on the FAU faculty since 2000 and has led the university’s choral and vocal studies program for more than two decades. Her pioneering scholarship on Irish choral music includes the first academic study of composer Michael McGlynn, now housed in the Irish Traditional Music Archive in Dublin. She has served as studio conductor on four Anúna recordings, premiered numerous works by McGlynn and was a member of the Anúna Summer School faculty. As artistic director of FAU’s Vocalis, she led the ensemble’s 2025 Global Music Award-winning recording, The Wind in the Reeds: The Music of Michael McGlynn and its acclaimed performance tour of Ireland and Europe. In 2026, Vocalis was selected through a national blind audition to perform at the Southern Region American Choral Directors Association Conference, one of only a handful of collegiate treble choirs chosen for the prestigious event. Rossow also has mentored numerous voice students who have gone on to national recognition and professional performing careers, reflecting her longstanding commitment to music education, cultural preservation and international artistic collaboration.

Timothy Steigenga, Ph.D., professor of political science, FAU’s Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College: Steigenga will spend four months in Guatemala during the spring and summer of 2027 conducting research in partnership with the Central American Institute for Social Studies and Development (INCEDES). His project will examine the long-term effects of migration on communities in Guatemala's Dry Corridor, a region where climate stress, economic challenges and social pressures have contributed to sustained migration patterns. Building on research conducted by INCEDES two decades ago, Steigenga will analyze how migration has reshaped local communities and assess whether migration serves as a successful adaptation strategy or contributes to ongoing cycles of vulnerability. The project will generate scholarly publications and policy recommendations aimed at mitigating the negative impacts of climate-driven migration. As part of the award, he also will teach an FAU study abroad course on immigration and transnationalism that will include opportunities for participation by Guatemalan university students.

A leading scholar of religion, politics and migration, Steigenga has devoted much of his career to understanding social and political change in Latin America and immigrant communities. Since helping establish FAU’s Wilkes Honors College in 1999, he has served in numerous leadership roles, including interim dean, associate dean for campus and community engagement and chair of the Social Science and Humanities Division. He has authored or edited six books and numerous scholarly publications and previously served as a Fulbright Scholar in Guatemala in 2006. His many honors include FAU’s Presidential Leadership Award, Researcher of the Year Award and Presidential Award for Community-Engaged Teaching. His work has been supported by organizations including the Ford Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Dana J. Vouglitois, senior associate director, Office of Technology Development, FAU Division of Research: Vouglitois has received a Fulbright International Education Administrator Award, one of the program’s most competitive opportunities for higher education leaders. Through the U.S.-France International Education Administrators Seminar, she will examine how universities in the U.S. and France build innovation ecosystems, translate research into real-world applications and foster successful partnerships with industry. The program will take Vouglitois to Amiens, Rouen and Paris, where she will engage with universities, research institutions and innovation leaders. She will share expertise in intellectual property management, technology commercialization and industry engagement while exploring opportunities for future collaboration between FAU and French institutions. Following the seminar, she plans to develop a pilot exchange focused on technology transfer best practices and expand opportunities for international collaboration across the university.

Vouglitois provides institution-wide leadership in research translation and innovation strategy at FAU. She oversees the protection and commercialization of the university's intellectual property portfolio, negotiates domestic and international research agreements, supports startup formation and advises on strategic partnerships. A patent attorney admitted in Florida, New York, New Jersey and before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, she brings expertise spanning law, technology commercialization and higher education administration. Before joining FAU, she served as counsel for the Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research and as acting rights and clearances counsel for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. In 2024, she was selected by the National Academy of Inventors and the USPTO as one of only 16 Invention Ambassadors nationwide, recognizing her leadership in innovation and research translation.

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