This year, the Fulbright Program named two College of Letters and Science faculty as scholars who will advance their research with international colleagues. Fulbright US Scholar Awards, administered through the U.S. Department of State, are among the most prestigious international awards.
Ron Mangun, a distinguished professor of psychology and neurology, will partner with colleagues at the University of Birmingham, UK to expand his research on attention and free will. Lynna Dhanani, an assistant professor of religious studies, will travel to India to study medieval Jain devotional hymns while actively engaging local scholars, Jain communities and Indian research institutions.
“This Fulbright award is a way of building connections through science and scholarship, and these connections increase understanding and deepen collaborations between people and countries while building a global network of scholars,” said Mangun, who is also founder and director of the Center for Mind and Brain (CMB).
Specialized equipment and a community of expertise
Mangun has been named a Fulbright US Distinguished Scholar for 2024-2025 by the US-UK Fulbright Commission. He will spend six months in 2025 at the University of Birmingham, UK, as a “Fulbright Distinguished Chair” working on research related to his ongoing work on attention and free will that is supported by the National Science Foundation.
At the University of Birmingham, Mangun will have access to equipment not available at UC Davis. Birmingham’s magnetoencephalography (MEG) machine has the sensitivity to measure some of the most minute magnetic fields that the brain produces when it’s active. These measurements provide an unparalleled view into brain processes that isn’t possible with other methods.
“I'll build connections with the team at Birmingham in the Center for Human Brain Health, and then when I come back here those connections will follow me. We can use that foundation to forge a formal exchange between the University of Birmingham and UC Davis in mind and brain science.” — Mangun
Dhanani was awarded the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award for the 2024-25 academic year. This October she will travel to India for nine months where she will be based at Ahmedabad University in Gujarat. However, she will also travel across the country to small towns and pilgrimage sites to investigate several manuscript libraries.
Dhanani is working on a book that explores the diversity of Jain hymns produced in the classical language of Sanskrit and the older Indian vernacular languages of Prakrit and Apabhramsha in 11th-13th century Gujarat. While many of these hymns are still in use after several centuries by today’s Jain community, Dhanani said that they remain vastly understudied.
“The more than 2,000-year-old tradition of composing and reciting hymns remains a foundational aspect of Jain religious practice,” said Dhanani. “Their composers were great poets and scholars and sought to do really creative things with these hymns, giving us insight into Jain cultural practice and intellectual work.”
Building an international understanding of misinformation and history
Mangun and Dhanani join other Letters and Science faculty who have connected with their global colleagues as Fulbright Scholars. Mangun’s CMB colleagues Professor of Linguistics Dave Corina and Professor of Psychology Petr Janata have both served as Fulbright U.S. Scholars.
Just last year, Cindy Shen, a professor of communication, conducted research as a Fulbright Scholar at the National University of Singapore. Shen received a Masters degree there before completing her Ph.D. at USC and joining UC Davis. As a Fulbright Scholar, she reconnected with her former advisors to expand her research related to trust, misinformation and media literacy in environments with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“Studying these three countries together we actually get a much more comprehensive view of the solutions to the misinformation problem in the age of AI. The U.S. does not have the only solution or the best solution. I think there's much to learn from other cultures and other models.” — Shen
Sudipta Sen, a professor of history, conducted archival research in India as a Fulbright Scholar in 2022. He is working on a book about how the British Empire took control of the region through puppet rules. The Fulbright award supported his work in a remote part of Bengal where the records from those periods of time were being damaged and destroyed because of a lack of funding to conserve them.
Sen was born and raised in Calcutta, where he still has family, and he already had connections with his host institution, the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences Calcutta. He also has been involved with the Fulbright Program for 25 years, serving on screening committees that select scholars for its programs. For those without connections in other countries, he said, a Fulbright can be invaluable.
“Scholars who never been to a country before have to find their footing first,” said Sen, “but it's also immensely instructive because they're getting to form long-lasting friendships and connections. They’re also getting to know different people in related fields of expertise. That's incredibly valuable.”
Connecting with the global community
International exchange, as well as representing the United States, is central to Fulbright scholarships. This involves connecting with the broader community outside of the university community alone.
“This idea of creating contacts scientifically, educationally and socially is important," said Mangun.
Besides access to the manuscripts themselves, Dhanani will engage with scholars in India to help decipher many of the medieval manuscripts she finds. She has already worked extensively with scholars nationally and internationally and has created Jain studies-related programs.
“A lot of what I’ll be doing in India will open up new avenues for collaboration. It will also allow me to continue connecting with local Indian scholars and other international scholars working on similar materials.” — Dhanani
In addition to his research, Mangun has plans to connect directly with the people of Birmingham, UK. He has plans to join the City of Birmingham Ramblers walking group, who support the British tradition of hiking nature trails and contributing to conservation efforts.
“I already signed up,” said Mangun. “I'm getting their emails. I'm going to get out and meet people there that aren't just scientists. The committee wanted to know that I wasn’t going to just sit there in the lab and not contribute to the bigger Fulbright mission of exchange and connection.”
About the Fulbright Program
The Fulbright Program offers a range of research and professional exchange opportunities for UC Davis faculty and staff in over 130 countries—and brings international scholars and students to Davis for collaborations that transform the campus community and build bridges to all parts of the world. The Program is directed by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Institute of International Education. Learn more at UC Davis Global Affairs.