College of Arts and Sciences researchers step out for international collaborations as Fulbright scholars.
Snapshot of Fulbright Scholars
Seven of the nine recent UT alumni receiving Fulbright US Student Grants for the 2026-2027 academic year have either a major or minor in arts and sciences. These grants provide support for these Vols in recognition of their academic excellence, professional success and leadership qualities as they pursue graduate education, engage in research, or teach English abroad.
Faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) maintain a strong tradition of groundbreaking, boundary-pushing research that frequently includes worldwide connections supported through the Fulbright Scholar Program.
These prestigious fellowships offer scholars transformative opportunities to teach and conduct research abroad while strengthening their professional development and fostering long term connections. Fulbright experiences lead to greater international co-publication and sustained scholarly exchange, positioning Fulbright scholars as contributors on the global stage and elevating the profile of their home institutions.
For this year’s cohort of CAS Fulbrights, three faculty members from across the college will share their expertise around the globe.
Taking a Walk with Brazilian Vampire Bats
Assistant Professor Michael Granatosky, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, researches locomotor biomechanics, using anatomy and functional morphology to understand how animals move from an engineering perspective. His Fulbright project at the Federal University of Lavras in Brazil explores the evolutionary trade-offs between walking and flying in bats, with a particular focus on Brazil’s three species of vampire bats.
Evolution often involves trade-offs: as animals become highly specialized for one task, they may lose some of the abilities that their ancestors once possessed. Humans, for example, evolved to walk efficiently on two legs, but in doing so gave up many of the climbing abilities of our primate relatives. Bats present a particularly fascinating example of this process.
“This is the only mammalian lineage that has evolved powered flight, yet they came from quadrupedal ancestors,” said Granatosky. “Now bats are really terrible, generally, when walking on the ground or climbing. Yet they all still contain those basic neural pathways to walk or climb.”
Brazil is home to all three species of vampire bats, some of which retain remarkably good walking skills. This dual knack for flying and walking is especially interesting for Granatosky.
“I wrote the Fulbright to look at more species and directly compare how flight energy works and how running energy works,” he said. “For the first time really look at those consequences directly. In the process, the project includes a large teaching component.”
Granatosky will train Brazilian students in biomechanics and bat biology and collaborate with the Brazilian university to set up a field biomechanics lab. The research could lead to insights on animal adaptations and inspire new engineering designs—ideas and data that Granatosky will bring home for the benefit of UT students in his lab and classes.
Building Narratives in Finland to Benefit Tennessee Students
Teaching Professor Anne Langendorfer, Department of English and the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center, was awarded the Fulbright-Tampere University Scholar Award 2026-2027, jointly funded by Tampere University and the Fulbright Finland Foundation, to conduct research and teach September 2026 to June 2027.
Langendorfer’s Fulbright experience will continue her focus on writing and narrative studies as she conducts research and teaches at Tampere.
“My Fulbright Scholar Award allows me to deepen my expertise in narrative studies and writing studies,” she said. “It gives me time to collaborate with scholars at Tampere and
helps me build new knowledge I can then bring back with me into the classes I teach, the research I conduct with narrative, writing, and education scholars inside and outside of UT, and the community engagement work I do through the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center.”
Langendorfer’s time in Finland will strengthen an international exchange of scholars developed by UT Professor of Sociology Lo Presser, a Fulbright Scholar to Tampere in 2020, and Tampere Professor of Literature Mari Hatavara, who was a visiting Fulbright Scholar at UT in 2024. Langendorfer and Hatavara developed deep research connections working together at the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts at that time.
“With Hatavara and others, I will conduct research to continue transforming our individual disciplines, developing more powerful methodologies, theories, and practices in our shared field of narratology,” said Langendorfer. “My research will focus on developing narrative methods for understanding the personal stories students tell about themselves to apply for postsecondary education, with the goal of helping more students access a pathway to higher education amid educational and writing change.”
New Zealand Collaborations Connect Big-Picture Microbiology
Professor of Microbiology Jill Mikucki studies the ecology and physiology of microorganisms that reside in the Earth’s cryosphere—the frozen areas of glaciers and permafrost regions—with a particular interest in the elusive ecosystems that exist within and beneath the ice.
This Fulbright professional project provides Mikucki with the opportunity to focus on deep Antarctic groundwater, one of the least-explored components of Earth’s polar regions.
“Accessing these environments, especially those systems hidden deep beneath the Antarctic ice sheet and permafrost, is logistically challenging,” said Mikucki. “It requires extensive coordination and international collaboration. Developing a shared vision with keen partners is critical.”
For these studies, she will work with partner institutes in New Zealand: the University of Waikato, Earth Science New Zealand in Taupo, and at the University of Otago.
“New Zealand plays a uniquely important role in Antarctic research as a gateway to the Ross Sea region and as a long-standing leader in international scientific collaboration and diplomacy,” said Mikucki. “Having spent many years of my life working in Antarctica, I am looking forward to spending time in New Zealand with a community whose relationship to the continent is informed not only by science, but also by a deeper sense of place and proximity.”
The Fulbright experience will help Mikucki expand her research in understanding the diversity, ecology, and biogeochemical functions of Antarctic groundwater microorganisms—and better understand their role in the larger global Earth system.
“I hope that my time as a Fulbright will immerse me in the unique culture of New Zealand,” said Mikucki. “But also, elevate my expertise in data analyses and help strengthen our international collaborative efforts around Antarctica research.”
by Randall Brown