Summer Fellowships Awarded for International Research

April 27, 2010

The Institute has awarded summer fellowships to 10 Brown undergraduates, under its ongoing McKinney, Ringer, Ruzicka, and Smoke programs.

The McKinney Family Fellowship is awarded to a student who exemplifies excellence in international studies, as strongly encouraged and supported by Watson Institute Board of Overseers Vice-Chair and Brown Corporation Member David E. McKinney and his family. The 2010 awardee is:
• Saskia Brechenmacher ’12, a concentrator in political science and Slavic studies, at the Europeum Institute for European Policy in the Czech Republic.

The Jack Ringer ’52 Summer Fellowship in Southeast Asia is made possible by this Brown alumnus, who served in Burma after graduating. The award provides Brown students with unique opportunities for research or internships in Southeast Asia. The recipients are:
• Margeaux Berroth ’11.5, a human biology/human health and disease concentrator, with Roots of Health in the Philippines.
• David Dean ’11, an environmental studies concentrator pursuing an independent research project on the role of aquaculture in providing nutrients and income to Southeast Asian rural and peri-urban communities. His work is in Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore.
• Maxwell Rosero ’12, an international relations concentrator, with Aidha in Singapore.
• Jordan Worthington ’11, a development studies concentrator, with Timor-Leste Asistensia Integradu Saude in East Timor.

The Marla Ruzicka International Public Service Fellowship, named after a dedicated human rights activist who died in April 2005, supports a Brown undergraduate who displays the characteristics of compassion, determination, and selflessness in the pursuit of international human rights, post-conflict rehabilitation, or international public service in its most noble spirit, and whose summer plans reflect those traits. This fellowship is supported by Lucinda B. Watson, a member of the Watson Institute Board of Overseers. This year’s awardee is:
• Andrea Dillon ’11.5, an international relations concentrator, with the Iraqi Student Project in Syria.

The Richard Smoke Fellowships, named in memory of a prominent Watson Institute scholar, are grants available to current Brown undergraduates who are pursuing internships abroad involving research, advocacy, or service on contemporary global problems. This year’s recipients are:
• Noura Choudhury ’11, a biology and English concentrator, with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research in Bangladesh.
• Rafael Bento Juliano ’12, a Portuguese and Brazilian studies/philosophy concentrator, with Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.
• Sophie Kainen ’12 –a development studies/economics concentrator, with Innovations for Poverty Action in Malawi.
• Avi Kenny ’11, a biology concentrator, with Gardens for Health International in Rwanda.