Fulbright Reality Czech

James Walters is a professor at  the University of Kansas. He teaches genetics, genomics, and introductory programming for biologists in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. This year, however, James is on sabbatical from KU, and for nine months he serves as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice. At the university, James conducts research on sex chromosome evolution in monarch butterflies and other related species with his Czech colleague Petr Nguyen . In his free time, he explores South Bohemia by bicycle, on foot, and occasionally in a kayak, together with his wife Meg and their daughter Ayelle. James says that: "As an avid cyclist and whitewater kayaker, there is really a lot to like here!" One of the really awesome aspects of living in České Budějovice is the extensive set of hiker/biker trails that flank the river(s) that run through town. The main river is, of course, the Vltava . But actually, right in the center of t...

Isabel Keleti is a pianist. Bree Nichols is a soprano. Their paths first crossed in September 2021, when they met at the Fulbright orientation for U.S. grantees in Prague; they were just beginning their academic year in the Czech Republic. Isabel came to study Leoš Janáček and other Czech gems of the piano repertoire, and it is no surprise that her host institution was the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno. Bree's research project "Czech Art Song: An Anthology and Recital Series 'From the Page to the Stage'" was hosted at the Faculty of Education of Palacký University in Olomouc. Although they had not originally expected to collaborate, Isabel and Bree would eventually perform together in seven concerts in six cities across the Czech Republic throughout their grant period. One highlight was their early June performance on the rooftop of Prague’s Lucerna together with future Czech Fulbrighter Tomáš Jamník. In this blog post, Isabel and Bree share...

Petr Nguyen vede Laboratoř srovnávací cytogenetiky a genomiky na Přírodovědecké fakultě Jihočeské univerzity v Českých Budějovicích a působí jako vědecký pracovník Entomologického ústavu Biologického centra Akademie věd. V roce 2016/2017 strávil osm měsíců s Fulbrightovým stipendiem pro vědce a přednášející na University of Kansas v USA, a pronikl tak do základů bioinformatiky. Rolí dnešních výzkumníků je podle Petra Nguyena  příprava studentů na praxi nebo vědu, posouvání lidského poznání, kultivace společnosti a řešení problémů, které by nás všechny měly trápit. S Petrem Nguyenem hovořil Ladislav Loukota ze stránky  Vědátor . Rozhovor je osmým dílem seriálu příběhů ke 30. výročí Fulbrightovy komise. Videozáznamy najdete každou první středu v měsíci na našem  YouTube  kanále a  Facebooku . V pátek Vám přinášíme částečný přepis rozhovorů zde na blogu . Co je obor vašeho výzkumu, jak vypadá vaše denní činnost? Zajímá mě organizace genomu, její změny a j...

Student Spotlight Interview: Robert Patrick Jameson by Chloe‘ Skye Robert Patrick Jameson is a Fulbright student with affiliation to Charles University. He is, in his own words, re-examining the history of the personal computer behind the Iron Curtain, specifically Czechoslovakia from circa 1975 to 1997. In our interview, he discusses how computers were popularized, adopted and used (particularly during the 1980s) and how they influenced the transformation of the Czech economy, as well as his deep dive into socialist-era tech magazines!  Fast Facts:  Hometown:  St. Paul, Minnesota Age:  29 College, Major/Minor:  M.A. History, Iowa State University. Currently enrolled in History Ph.D program at the University of Kansas, with a major field in Russia and East Europe and minor fields in Urban History and History of Technology. School in the Czech Republic:  Charles University Faculty of Social Sciences  Favorite Czech Phrase: Strč prst...