Fulbright Reality Czech

Petr Liška is a physical engineer. But the world he works in is almost unimaginably small: he studies materials so thin they are only a few atoms thick, exploring how they can manipulate light through quantum phenomena that continue to work even at room temperature. The vision behind his research sounds almost futuristic, creating an electrically controllable optical component thinner than a strand of human hair by a factor of one hundred thousand. Originally from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Brno University of Technology, Petr is currently spending the academic year at Stanford University in California as a Fulbright Visiting Student. Yet this story is not only about cutting-edge science. It is also about moving across the world with a wife and a newborn daughter, adjusting to life under the Californian sun, discovering how everyday kindness can shape one’s state of mind, and perhaps unexpectedly realizing what people back home in the Czech Republic often take for gran...

Libby Hladik is an occupational therapist.  Her work blends clinical expertise with creativity and collaboration. With a background as a theatre director and producer, she brings a unique perspective to her research on well-being and community participation for people with developmental disabilities and their families. In the 2024/2025 academic year, Libby spent a year in the Czech Republic as a Fulbright Scholar, partnering with the Institute for Research in Inclusive Education at Masaryk University in Brno. She worked alongside Czech families to adapt an Accessibility Toolkit for Cultural Institutions, helping to make community spaces more inclusive. Joined by her Czech-born husband and their daughter, Libby reflects, “My Fulbright experience was truly special in how it connected such important parts of my personal and professional life.”  My Fulbright experience was a dream come true. It sounds a little funny and a bit verbose, but it was a combination of personal and profe...

Katie Googe is an expert on American literature. During the 2024/2025 academic year, she spent eight months at the Department of English and American Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, where she explored the connections between Czech science fiction in the aftermath of the First World War and depictions of time and colonialism in early American speculative fiction. Coming from the University of Southern California, Katie was excited to experience Czech culture firsthand. While she enjoyed immersing herself in local traditions, she was also struck by how international her academic environment turned out to be. In her Brno classroom, students and colleagues from nearly every continent sparked conversations that enriched her understanding of literature and culture far beyond the lecture hall. Reflecting on her Fulbright experience, Katie shares: "Over the next two semesters, I learned more from my students than I could have even imagined." On my final night in Brno before I...

Jolie L'Heureux is  an astronomer. From gazing at the stars as a curious child to searching for the echoes of cosmic events, Jolie L’Heureux’s journey into astrophysics is as inspiring as the universe she studies. A graduate of Columbia University, Jolie is currently conducting post-baccalaureate research at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University in Brno. As a Fulbright student grantee, she spends nine months hunting for electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational wave events—an effort to shed light on some of the most mysterious phenomena in the cosmos. Jolie’s love for science was first sparked during museum and library visits with her mother, and now she pays that inspiration forward through outreach: "I especially like to be involved with outreach events with younger children, to make sure that everyone has the opportunity to see the beauty of our universe and be inspired to become a scientist. For younger kids, I think it is important to share with them cool thing...

Sreyas Yennampelli is a neuroscientist and a philosopher. At Emory University, he researched the biological basis of various phenomena, from aggression to fatherhood. His background in philosophy reminds him of the implications of his everyday research and the need to combat the stigmatization of patients. During the current academic year, Sreyas has joined one of the few research labs focusing on eating disorders worldwide at Masaryk University’s Faculty of Medicine in Brno. With his colleagues, Sreyas tries to identify the brain regions involved in the development of eating disorders and monitors the results of their treatment. After his Fulbright experience, Sreyas plans to enroll in medical school, and upon earning his medical degree, he hopes to “post about healthy eating habits on social media and counter harmful diets endorsed by influencers. [He also wants] to develop an annual virtual research conference to create a platform for eating disorder researchers worldwide to exchang...

Dagmar Pichová vyučuje na Katedře filozofie Filozofické fakulty Masarykovy univerzity. Je členkou Akademického senátu Filozofické fakulty i celé Masarykovy univerzity. Doktorské studium absolvovala ve Francii a ve svém výzkumu se zaměřuje na filozofii osvícenství a vztahy mezi filozofií a literaturou. V uplynulém akademickém roce se na tři měsíce vydala s Fulbright-Masarykovým stipendiem na Katedru filozofie Harvardovy univerzity. Přestože její zahraniční zkušenost v USA trvala jen od ledna do března roku 2024, dnes dalším zájemcům a zájemkyním o stipendia jednoznačně vzkazuje: „I tříměsíční pobyt přinese mnoho nové inspirace do života stipendistů a jejich rodinných příslušníků.“ V USA jsem se věnovala projektu o epistemické autoritě v novověké filozofii, konkrétně v díle Émilie Du Châtelet. Katedra filozofie na Harvardově univerzitě je rozsáhlá, kromě kmenových zaměstnanců k ní patří i velká skupina fellows a visiting scholars. Odborný záběr členů Katedry je obdivuhodný. Téměř neexist...

Kateřina Kallus Brychová is a high school teacher. She teaches English at Gymnázium Brno nicknamed "Jaroška." In the summer of 2023, Kateřina participated in the Fulbright SUSI Program (SUSI stands for Study of the US Institutes for Secondary Educators) aimed at school administrators interested in  sociocultural understanding, equitable learning communities, and diversity and inclusion in U.S. education and society. Participants from 20 different countries representing five different continents spent four weeks of the program at California State University in Chico. They took part in multiple seminars and workshops facilitated by university faculty, as well as external experts, toured numerous sites throughout Northern California, and visited schools to explore varied educational paths in California. For the fifth and final week of the Institute, the participants spent a couple of days in Chicago, Illinois and in Washington, D.C. to experience different regions of the U.S. an...