Fulbright Experiences and Expectations Retold

Fulbright Experiences and Expectations Retold

Sandra Cutts, representing U.S. scholars from academic 2021–2022, recently completed her collaboration with Aristotle University in Thessaloniki and will soon return to the U.S. George Theotokatos, representing academic year 2022–2023, will soon depart for the United States to conduct research at the University of Vermont.

Watch the recorded video with excerpts of the Fulbright grantees' live speeches.

Sandra Cutts received her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (CCEE) graduate program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). She received her Master’s degree in Environmental Planning from the Urban and Regional Studies program at Alabama A&M University (AAMU) and was also part of the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) program. Her research work included policy effectiveness, sustainable development, citizens’ participation, hazardous waste, nuclear power plants, and nuclear energy. Her research contributed to the growing need to investigate and justify emerging technologies, citizen engagement, and alternative, clean, and efficient energy sources. Sandra has always been an advocate of social and environmental justice; as a 2019–2020 National Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, Sandra worked on environmental policy issues in the U.S. Senate and will continue environmental research in Greece as a Fulbright Scholar, hosted by Dr. Georgia Pozoukidou in the Department of Spatial Planning and Development at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Her research will investigate public perceptions and awareness of environmental systems and their implementation. She will present her results and, based on these, develop strategies to increase meaningful citizen engagement in decision-making in the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area of Greece.

Georgios Theotokatos holds a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy and an M.Sc. in Exercise Biology. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens School of Physical Education and Sport Science under the supervision of Professor E. Skordilis. He has acquired expertise in EU-funded research programs in Greece concerning the inclusion of people with intellectual disability. As a clinician, he has been treating musculoskeletal patients in a private-practice physiotherapy center. His Ph.D. work focuses on the biopsychosocial model and the disability assessment. In a nutshell, his research is situated in the nexus of disability and social policy. He is trying to understand the impact of disabilities upon a person’s daily living in order to make welfare states more efficient and patient centered. As a Fulbright fellow, he will spend six months at the University of Vermont in the Department of Rehabilitation and Movement Science, under the supervision of Professor R. Escorpizo. During his visit, he plans to specialize in the field of Disability Assessment and Functioning. The expertise that will be obtained in the U.S. will allow him to complete the final stage of his dissertation, which will take place in Greece. All the experience acquired from abroad will be applied in clinical practice and will eventually have a positive impact on individual patients and overall society.

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