Two recent MCB graduates have been offered fully funded opportunities through the U.S. student Fulbright program.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the program awards 1,900 academic grants annually to U.S. citizens for use in more than 140 nations. The combined $325 million investment by the U.S. and foreign governments generally provides full funding for round-trip travel, room and board, health insurance, and full or partial tuition.

The program seeks to promote cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding through students’ engagement in their host communities.

Matthew Moynihan, of Naperville, Ill., will conduct an English teaching assistantship in Indonesia. He has been a conversation partner for the U. of I. Intensive Language Institute and a research assistant in the neurocognitive kinesiology laboratory. Moynihan wants to immerse himself in the Indonesian culture and broaden his cultural understanding to help his development as a teacher of health. Moynihan will attend Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Colorado. He intends to practice medicine abroad.

Joseph Weber, of Litchfield, Ill., will conduct research in Sweden. He is a recipient of the James R. Beck undergraduate research award and a James Scholar research award. For the past three years, Weber has served as a research assistant in professor Bruce Fouke's geomicrobiology lab. Weber hopes that his research at the Royal Institute of Technology will help him characterize the cell-membrane proteins of the relatively novel and under-investigated organism Sulfurihydrogenibium yellostonense. Weber intends to pursue a medical degree at Loyola University in Chicago.