3rd Fulbright, 2nd Goldwater in 2 years

Alyssa Borowske ’07, a biology and environmental studies major with a minor in geology, was awarded a Fulbright grant to study the impact of Australian magpies on native bird species in New Zealand.

She will work with researchers at the University of Waikato using radio telemetry to track habitat use of two endemic species, the Tui and the Wood Pigeon, in areas with and without magpies. After the Fulbright, she intends to pursue a doctoral degree in avian conservation and ecology.

She is Cornell’s third Fulbright recipient since 2006 and the 20th since 1956.

Off-campus research is nothing new for Borowske. She studied coral reefs in the Bahamas, stalagmites in caves in Portugal, wildlife ecology at the Wilderness Field Station in northern Minnesota, and bird populations at the University of Michigan Biological Station.

For her environmental studies honors thesis, she prepared a report to guide Cornell toward campus sustainability. As part of the project, she participated in the Cornell Fellows Program as the Dean Fellow in Environmental Studies with University of South Carolina Professor Emeritus John Mark Dean ’58 in Columbia, learning about sustainability initiatives at South Carolina institutions.

Cornell’s 2006 Fulbright recipients, Ryan Taugher ’06 and Laura Erceg ’06, are completing their assignments. Taugher, an international relations major, has been in Turkey conducting independent research on the role of water resource management in regional security. This fall he is enrolled in the U.S. foreign policy program in the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. Erceg, a Russian and sociology major, has been working in several institutions for “at risk” children, including an orphanage, a social-rehabilitation center, and a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization working with street kids in Vladivostok, Russia.

Goldwater Scholar

Julia Kamenetzky, a physics major from Bettendorf, Iowa, who intends to pursue a doctorate in astrophysics, was awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the premier undergraduate award for students interested in the fields of science, mathematics, and engineering.

Danielle Bowen ’07, a mathematics and biology major, earned a Goldwater in 2006. She will pursue a Ph.D. in genetics at Iowa State University.

Kamenetzky, who just completed her junior year, plans a research career that will also focus on science outreach and education, especially efforts to help young women succeed in science and mathematics. Last summer she assisted Cornell physics faculty in research, and this summer she is conducting astronomy research at Cornell University.

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