GOLDEN, Colo., Feb. 27, 2014 – Stephen Liu, a professor in the George S. Ansell Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines, has been named by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) as the Distinguished Chair for Oil and Gas to Brazil. 

The FSB is the presidentially appointed 12-member board that is responsible for establishing worldwide policies for the Fulbright Program and for selection of Fulbright recipients. The Fulbright Award is made possible through funds that are appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and/or the private sector.

As a Fulbright grantee, Liu will join the ranks of distinguished participants in the program. Fulbright alumni have become heads of state, judges, ambassadors, cabinet ministers, CEOs, university presidents, journalists, artists, professors and teachers. They have been awarded 43 Nobel Prizes. Since its inception more than 60 years ago, approximately 300,000 Fulbrighters have participated in the program.

Fulbright grantees are expected to “establish open communication and long-term cooperative relationships.” Mines has a long history of collaborating with Brazilian companies and Mines alumni. As a representative of the U.S. in Brazil, Liu hopes to contribute to technical collaboration and understanding between the people and distinguished scientists of the two countries.

Mines has many distinguished alumni from Brazil and currently participates in the Brazil Scientific Mobility Program which brings outstanding undergraduates to the university for a year of study. The program will soon expand to include graduate degree-seeking students. 

Professor Liu has been the director of the Mines Center for Welding, Joining and Coatings Research since 2003. He earned his PhD from Mines, and his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Escola de Engenharia da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil.

 

Contact:

Karen Gilbert, Director of Public Relations, Colorado School of Mines / 303-273-3541 / kgilbert@mines.edu
Kathleen Morton, Communications Coordinator, Colorado School of Mines / 303-273-3088 / kmorton@mines.edu