Published: July 13, 2016

Linguistics doctoral student Evan Coles-Harris was one of five Boulder graduate students or alumni awarded a Fulbright grant to pursue teaching, research and graduate studies for the 2016-17 academic year. Coles-Harris will examine the “Mandarinization” of the Nanjing dialect in the Jiangsu Province of China and its acoustic and social effects. In addition to China, countries of award recipients include Switzerland, Mexico and Russia. 

Other awardees’ areas of focus include a bat disease called White-Nose Syndrome, which is present in Switzerland but does not cause the same devastating population loss there as seen in North America; the Russian language and culture; Mexican culture and values; and how planning for China’s electricity sector affects the country’s ability to integrate large-scale renewable energy. 

“ Boulder students and alumni have an impressive history of contributing to international research, teaching and understanding,” said Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano. “As global ambassadors, they bring distinction not only to their own lives and careers, but also to Boulder.”

200 Boulder students have received Fulbright grant notifications since 1978, including this year’s recipients, according to Boulder’s  office. The 70-year-old program, sponsored by the US government, operates in more than 140 countries and has provided opportunities for more than 360,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists and scientists.