Global paths
Three Orediggers were selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program for academic year 2025-26, marking the first time Mines has had more than one student Fulbright recipient in the same year. We checked in with them to learn more about their experiences.
CLIMATE-RELATED HAZARDS IN ICELAND
Isabella “Is” Chittumuri, PhD candidate in applied mathematics and statistics, was selected for the Fulbright National Science Foundation Arctic Research Award. She is conducting an independent research project focused on assessing climate-related hazards in the Hornafjörður region of southeast Iceland using geospatial analysis and machine learning. By modeling climate-driven risks, such as extreme weather, Chittumuri’s project aims to support the Hornafjörður region in making data-informed decisions for local infrastructure planning and risk mitigation.
Chittumuri’s next phase of research will focus on developing and validating spatially explicit machine learning models that integrate climate variables, infrastructure data and hazard histories to identify risk patterns and future vulnerability scenarios. She has also applied for a grant through the Icelandic Road Administration’s Research Fund to extend her modeling analysis from the municipal level in Hornafjörður to a nation-wide framework, with the goal of informing broader national infrastructure planning and climate adaptation efforts across Iceland.
“My Fulbright experience has been the first taste of what I want my career to be. In my team, I’m the only statistician, working amongst geologists, volcanologists and other scientists,” Chittumuri said. “This has been an affirming experience—I got the tools I needed from Mines to be successful, and now I have the opportunity to use them in the way I want to in my career.”
FOREST RESTORATION TECHNIQUES IN MOROCCO
Nadia Schreiber ’21, MS ’25 was selected for the Fulbright Open Study/Research Grant to Morocco. She has been conducting an independent research project that uses satellite imagery, GIS and groundwater quality analysis to evaluate forest restoration techniques in Ahlaf, Morocco, in collaboration with the organization Malin L’ghaba and Cadi Ayyad University. Following her analysis, Schreiber will work with Malin L’ghaba to choose and implement an optimal reforestation solution.
The next phase of her work includes building rainwater harvesting structures with a team of 35 volunteers and experts from a reforestation non-profit based in Germany called MIYA Forest.
“Fulbright has set me up for life,” Schreiber said. “Moving to a completely different country, immersing myself in the culture and researching what I love is an experience that helped me grow and taught me how to be part of a community. Now I really feel prepared for any job and opportunity that comes my way.”
TEACHING AND CULTURAL IMMERSION IN SOUTH KOREA
Camila Garcia-Ferreyra ’22, MS ’23 was selected to complete a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in South Korea. She arrived in Goesan, South Korea, in early January 2026 for six weeks of intensive training in the Korean language and teaching clinics before being assigned to a host community and school.
Garcia-Ferreyra has worked in industry as an engineer but was always curious about what a teaching career might look like. The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship is giving Garcia-Ferreyra a taste of a future career in teaching and an immersion in Korean culture.
She has followed a busy schedule involving Korean language classes and daily teaching workshops. In mid-February, she began her academic year role as an English Teaching Assistant at a K-12 school.
“I’m most looking forward to exploring my placement city, as well as traveling across South Korea over the course of the year,” Garcia-Ferreyra said. “I’m also excited to keep up with my Korean language skills so that I can connect with my host community.”
