U.S. Grantees AY 2013-2014
Dr. Jozsi Zoltan JALICS
Home Institution: Youngstown State University
Host Institution: Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Budapest
Field: Mathematics / Neuroscience
Project title: Localization of Single Neuron Current Sources Based on Extracellular Potentials
Dr. Jalics’ proposal and work fit well into the host’s research program, and new outcomes and improved research methods resulted from the collaboration. Dr. Jalics wrote an article about his findings. Collaboration will continue in the future.
On March 20, 2015 Dr. Jalics participated in the meeting of the American Fulbright alumni organized jointly by the Hungarian Fulbright Commission and the Embassy of Hungary in Washington, DC. The event took place at the Embassy of Hungary, and Dr. Jalics was one of the speakers giving an enthusiastic account of his professional and personal experiences of his year in Hungary as a Fulbrighter.
“I joined the Computational Neuroscience Research Group of the Wigner Research Centre for Physics within the Hungarian Academy of Sciences as a Visiting Research Fellow for the 2013-14 academic year. In collaboration with Zoltán Somogyvári and Dorottya Cserpán, I investigated the localization of single neuron current sources from extracellular potentials. In particular, we were able to develop a new spike Current Source Density (sCSD) method for spherically shaped neurons such as those in the thalamus. Relative to the traditional CSD method, our method yields more flexible asymmetric results and has the advantage of providing an approximation of the cell-electrode distance. I have written a manuscript regarding the work entitled “Single Cell Current Source Computation in the Thalamus” and presented the work to the research group before my departure from Hungary. Our ongoing and future work includes the generation of new results from our thalamic data, improvements to our method, and revisions to our manuscript. We expect that our collaboration will continue to be fruitful for many years to come. Additionally, I developed strong bonds, which I plan to preserve, with the entire research group through regular group meetings, lectures, and daily lunches. My Fulbright experience was extremely rewarding and fruitful.”
www.fulbright.hu/international-brain-research-organization-workshop
Dr. Andrea MITNICK
Home Institution: Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Host Institution: Budapest College of Communications and Business
Field: Communications and Journalism
Project title: Goulash and Global Smarts: Doing Communication , Business and Art sin the Land of My Father
Dr. Mitnick taught undergraduate courses in Public Speaking and in Leadership Communication, and gave lectures at other universities. She also advised students regarding the possibility of pursuing a Fulbright on their own. She edited colleagues’ papers, and helped organize a conference at her host institution.
“The most important thing for me is to continue my lifelong love of international learning and teaching. I will always be grateful for this opportunity to live in the land of my father. It was an adventure, an honor, and a blessing.”
Ms. Amber WINICK
Home Institution: Bard College, Brooklyn, NY
Host Institution: Museum of Applied Arts / University of Szent István, Department of Architecture and Urban Design, Budapest
Field: Art History
Project title: Designing Hungarian Childhood in the Twentieth Century
Ms. Winick researched Hungarian designs created for children and their social impact.She collected oral histories from designers, writers, teachers, art historians and architects. Her research also focused on the archival holdings of museums. She collected images, took photographs she plans to use in future writings.
The paper Ms. Winick wrote about her Fulbright research in Hungary was accepted and will be published in the Hungarian Cultural Studies e-Journal of the American Hungarian Educators Association.
“As a historian of material culture, I have many tangible outcomes from my time as a Fulbright grantee. Because I am interested in designs created for children and their social impact on everyday Hungarians, I collected a number of oral histories from designers, writers, teachers, art historians and architects. These oral histories are an invaluable part of my research as they would never have been possible without living in Budapest for an extended period.
A large portion of my research has focused on the archival holdings of museums. Not only have I made wonderful professional contacts with a number of art historians, but I have also collected images I hope to use in future writings. In addition, I have visited architectural sites and public leisure spaces across Hungary and have taken photographs. Lastly, my book collection has increased two-fold since arriving in Budapest. I have collected Hungarian and English language catalogues, as well as illustrated children’s books. Each of these tangibles–oral histories, professional contacts, scanned images, photographs and books–will be invaluable when I return to New York as they will inform my writing and future research.”
U.S. Grantee AY 2014-2015
Dr. Kenneth STEVENS
Home Institution: Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX
Host Institution: University of Debrecen, North American Department, Debrecen
Field: History
Project title: History of the United States
Dr. Stevens was the holder of Országh László Distinguished Chair in American Studies award. He taught courses on US history and on African American Civil Rights Movement . He was involved in many different scholarly activities of his host institution: edited papers, commented on articles, attended PhD dissertation of a student, and frequently met with and discussed research topics with students. He gave presentations at Eötvös Loránd University and the Institute of Legal Studies of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He regularly spoke at the American Corner Debrecen, and attended many of their events. He presented a paper at the conference ’La Frontera: Borderlands Multidisciplinary Symposia’ organized by Eszterházy Károly College of Eger.
In academic year 2015-2016, his American institution, the Texas Christian University will host Hungarian Fulbrighter Dr. Tibor Glant, Professor of History and Chair of the North American Department of the University of Debrecen. Dr. Stevens was instrumental in enabling him to receive a two-semester appointment.
“Being a Fulbright Scholar was for my wife and I a life-changing experience. We met wonderful people who have enriched our lives beyond measure. My Hungarian colleagues were friendly and welcoming. The staff members of the Fulbright Commission in Budapest are wonderful. The best part of the experience were taking part in all department events at the University of Debrecen and the Fulbright activities put together by the Fulbright office in Budapest. We learned a great deal about Hungarian history, culture, and society through those activities.”
newsevents.tcu.edu/stories/tcu-history-professor-receives-fulbright-award-to-teach-in-hungary
Hungarian Grantees AY 2013-2014
Mr. István KESZTE
Home Institution: Budapest University of Technology and Economics
Host Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA
Field: Aerospace Engineering
Project title: Aerospace Engineering Master’s studies
“I successfully completed all my academic work in this top notch engineering school through which I learnt specific topics of my field of interest from world renowned professors and got involved in their research concerning acoustics and aircraft design. Apart from my research for NASA and courses in a team we won the American Helicopter Society’s (AHS) 31st Annual Student Design Competition , where we designed an aircraft capable of flying with closely 400 knots – the speed of an airplane – but can also hover with the high efficiency of a helicopter.”
Ms. Éva RÉZ
Home Institution: Budapest Stock Exchange Ltd.
Host Institution: Golden Gate University, San Francisco, CA
Field: Business / Finance
Project title: Graduate Certificate Program in Finance
“As a Fulbright student for 2013/14 I spent 9 months in San Francisco, where I acquired a Certificate in Finance at Golden Gate University. Over this period I gained a lot of very useful practical experience due to the different approach of the American higher education system. I had the chance to attend classes, into which I had not got a deep insight before, such as Behavioral Finance, Technical Analysis and Venture Capital. The latter was so decisive that now I work in the Hungarian start-up ecosystem for Day One Capital Ltd. (VC) as an investment director.”
prezi.com/i3hvvajhy-pp/the-us-adventure-201314
Dr. Judit SZATHMÁRI
Home Institution: Eszterházy Károly College, Eger
Host Institution: Newberry Library, D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies, Chicago, IL
Field: American Studies
Project title: Manifestations, Perceptions and Theorizations of American Indian Sovereignty since the 1960s
“In addition to research at the Newberry Library, I have regularly volunteered at the American Indian Center operated by Chicago’s Indian community. I am greatly indebted to the grant for enabling me to meet and establish connections with tribal leaders of the Eastern Shawnee, Minnesota Ojibwa and Navajo tribes, activists involved in national Indian affairs, writers and members of the Indian community in general. I intend to utilize and share my findings in my teaching of BA- and MA-level American literature, culture, and American Indian cultures courses at the University of Debrecen, and also to publish my second biography both in Hungarian and English to offer a better understanding of Indian Country.”
Hungarian Grantees AY 2014-2015
Dr. Péter CSATÓ
Home Institution: University of Debrecen
Host Institution: University of Texas, San Antonio, TX
Field: American Studies
Project title: Teaching Interdisciplinary Courses in the United States
“In the second semester of 2014-2015 I will teach at the University of Texas at San Antonio as a Visiting Lecturer. At my host institution, I will teach two courses at undergraduate level: (1) Culture and Interpretation; (2) Philosophy on the Screen. My teaching objectives are: (1) to reveal and analyze the constitutive role of interpretive practices in various kinds of cultural discourses; (2) to familiarize students not majoring in philosophy with some of the major philosophical problems in both the Continental and analytical traditions through their explicit or implicit thematization in filmic narratives.”
Ms. Nóra DEÁK
Home Institution: Eötvös Loránd University
Host Institution: American Hungarian Foundation Library, New Brunswick, NJ
Field: Library Science
Project title: Digital access to library and archival material on the 1956 Hungarian refugees at the American Hungarian Foundation
“My research at the American Hungarian Foundation in New Brunswick, NJ includes the digitization and cataloging more than 32000 registration cards prepared at Camp Kilmer, a former military base and reception center, in 1956-57 in the course of processing Hungarian refugees. The scanned version of typed cards will be part of the Rutgers digital archive, providing access to the image files, while a searchable list of the registration data (the individual’s name, gender, date of birth, date of arrival, ship or flight manifest number, sponsoring agency’s code/abbreviation, marital status and occupation where available) will be available for multi-field data retreaval. My PhD dissertation will be based on this research.”
Mr. András JÓKÚTI
Home Institution: Hungarian Intellectual Property Office
Host Institution: George Washington University
Field: Law
Project title: LL.M. in Intellectual Property Law at The George Washington University
“In the first semester, I was introduced to the US legal system and learned how to write legal memoranda for US law purposes. My specialized studies focused on patent law and antitrust. As these areas of law have a very intriguing interface, my research paper was about one of the very current issues regarding their interplay in both the US and the EU, i.e. the antitrust treatment of the so-called “pay-for-delay” settlements in pharmaceutical patent litigation.
In the second semester, I chose subjects from other areas of intellectual property: I was introduced to US trademark and design law, I learned the basics of drafting licensing agreements, and I took a comparative course of international intellectual property. I graduated with highest honors in May 2015 and received the Thelma Weaver Memorial Award for the best foreign LL.M. student of the academic year.
For my academic training, I am assisting a new patent law professor at the faculty in preparing teaching materials for the course he will hold in the fall semester.”
www.fulbright.hu/andras-jokuti-selected-for-special-award-by-gwu-law-school
Mr. Pál RUTKAI
Home Institution: Zoboki, Demeter & Associates Architects, Budapest
Host Institution: New York School of Interior Design, New York, NY
Field: Architecture
Project title: Master of Professional Studies in Healthcare Interior Design (MPS-H)
“My post-professional program is focusing on providing designers and healthcare professionals with broad knowledge of current issues, research, and theory in the design of healthcare interiors, including a focused studio experience. Our professors are world-renowned healthcare professionals with many years of experience and the advisory board members represent industry leaders from top US design firms in the field of healthcare. One of the main focuses of the syllabus is evidence based design and it’s implementation to the design process. Site visits and attending conferences to experience the most up-to-date design and planning methods is also an essential part of the program. We are participating in a research project too that is using state of the art technology to explore flow and behavioral patterns in healthcare spaces. Participants in the program represent a broad mixture of nationalities and disciplines including hospital administration, social work, interior design and architecture.”
Dr. Bence SÁGVÁRI
Home Institution: Centre for Social Sciences, Hungarian Academy of Sciences
Host Institution: Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Field: Sociology
Project title: Teaching joint courses at the Department of Sociology and Central Eurasian Studies Department
“In the 2014/15 academic year I teach a total of 4 courses. In the Fall semester my courses were ‘Organizations in society’ and ‘Youth in national and international perspectives’. The Spring courses will be ‘Citizens’ attitudes and behavior in Europe’ and ‘Digital identities: the culture of the new media’. All courses are open for both undergraduate and graduate students.
Apart from regular teaching I also actively participate in the academic life of the university. In the coming months I will have several public lectures, presentations and workshops based on my current research projects. (European Social Survey and EU Kids Online)
On November 13, 2014 I also presented at FOSI’s Annual Conference in Washington, D.C.”
Ms. Zsuzsa VÁRADY
Home Institution: University of Theater and Film
Host Institution: Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
Field: Theater / Film
“In the first semester my research was based on three separate parts. First, I have been auditing screenwriter and filmmaker classes to gain a deeper understanding of the educational structure of screenwriting here. Secondly, I proceeded in the independent research of former or contemporary filmmakers, who have used improvisation in the process of their writing. Finally, I started auditing the workshops of a contemporary filmmaker-screenwriter-professor who has developed a method very similar and relevant to my topic. In the time left my plans are to continue with the independent research and also to summarize my gained practical and theoretical knowledge in a workshop given to the graduate screenwriter student based on my improvisational method.”
Mr. Miklós ZALA
Home Institution: Central European University
Host Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Field: Political Science
Project title: Religious and Cultural Accommodation: A Discrimination Perspective
“As a Fulbright visiting doctoral student, I am doing my research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor on the topic of legal exemptions that apply exclusively to some religious or cultural groups, such as the exemption of kosher/halal butchery from humane slaughter regulations. My project is normative: I try to find a plausible theoretical framework that can justify these exemptions.
During my stay, my work enormously profited from the help of my UM supervisor, Elizabeth Anderson, who is not only the expert of multiculturalism and racial integration in particular, but also an internationally acclaimed authority of political philosophy in general. I am also able to take part in the activity of the Legal and Political Philosophy Workshop of UM’s Philosophy Department, which provides me the opportunity to discuss the works in progress of LPP participants. I plan to present my own work to the LPP workshop later in the semester.”
