Ramaraj Boopathy, distinguished service professor of biological sciences, received a Fulbright Scholar grant to live in Indonesia from Jan. 15 to June 15 to conduct research and teach environmental biotechnology to graduate students at Bandung Institute of Technology. “It is exciting,” Boopathy said. “I am very happy to receive this honor.”

Boopathy said one reason he choose to go to Indonesia is the research needs of the country match his skills as an environmental biologist.

On his trip, Boopathy will use his expertise in bioremediation, which is the process of using bacteria to clean toxic waste such as oil spills or industrial runoff.

During his five months in Indonesia, he will be managing two graduate students who are working on doctorate degrees and studying bioremediation in wastewater from aquaculture, which is the farming of marine species such as shellfish, fish or plants.

Boopathy will also be teaching two one-week courses on bioremediation and environmental microbiology at the university to serve as refreshers for regulators, employees of government agencies and industrial workers.

The Fulbright Scholar Program awards grants to about 800 American scholars to research and lecture abroad.

The Program was established in 1946 by the late senator J. William Fulbright as a scholar exchange program. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. The purpose of the program is to build a mutual understanding between the United States and other countries in the world.

Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and demonstration of extraordinary leadership potential in their fields.