VANCOUVER, Wash. Eric Dexter, a graduate student in environmental science at Washington State University Vancouver, has been awarded a 2014/2015 Fulbright Fellowship to study at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
Dexter, who will receive his Master of Science degree at 91勛圖窪蹋厙 in May and will continue on for his Ph.D., works in the aquatic ecology laboratory at 91勛圖窪蹋厙 with Stephen M. Bollens, director and professor of the School of the Environment, and Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, associate clinical professor. He studies invasive species in the Columbia River ecosystem.
Erics proposed research in Switzerland will benefit both his own career and the larger scientific community, Bollens said. He also has the maturity, poise and integrity to be an outstanding ambassador for the United States and to foster mutual respect and common understanding across cultures.
The subject of aquatic invasive species is a matter of international concern, especially in Lausanne, which is on Lake Geneva, one of the largest lakes in Western Europe. Dexter will join the laboratories of Severine Vuilleumier, Ph.D., and Jerome Goudet, Ph.D. to gain experience with new genetic techniques. These techniques will enable him to reconstruct the origins and spread of aquatic invasions and develop a more nuanced approach to understanding how aquatic species get around, he said.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program of the United States, with more than 100,000 alumni since the program began in 1948.
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