Celebrating our 2025 Fulbright Scholars
Four postgraduate researchers at the University have been named as 2025 Australian-American Fulbright Scholars, a highly competitive program that fosters educational exchange between host countries and the United States.
The scholarships are administered by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission, recognising the value of research, collaboration, and cross-cultural engagement, which the scholars contribute to their fields of study. The Australian Fulbright Scholars received their awards from Governor General Sam Mostyn AC at a ceremony at Parliament House in Canberra.
Upon their return from exchange, the scholars bring back valuable insights and connections, further enriching our academic community.
This year, the following University of Sydney scholars received Fulbright awards:
Associate Professor Brahman Sivakumar
Fulbright Future Scholarship (Postgraduate), funded by the Kinghorn Foundation
Associate Professor Sivakumar will travel to the Massachusetts General Hospital where he will investigate the use of targeted muscle reinnervation for pain relief in cases of amputation or peripheral nerve trauma, identifying factors associated with successful outcomes.
Daniel Cullen
Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship
As a Fulbright Scholar, Daniel will refine his playwriting and composition skills in New York, furthering his ambition to create Australian musicals that succeed on the global stage.
Fulbright Postgraduate Scholarship at the University of Maryland
Alice’s project will explore Australia-US defence cooperation efforts in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific. The focal point of her research will be assessing the domestic dynamics surrounding implementation of the AUKUS partnership – the two nations’ most complex and ambitious joint effort – and understanding its impact on the fabric of the Australian-American alliance.
Fulbright Future Scholarship (Postgraduate), funded by the Kinghorn Foundation
Jack is a PhD candidate with the Australian Centre for Robotics. at the University of Sydney. He will attend the Carnegie Mellon University to work on a project which will allow robotic platforms to make critical decisions in more complex environments with physically based models of light captured by their sensors. From urban cities to low-earth orbit, this will enable systems to bring together different sources of information under a common scene representation, enabling new capabilities and understanding.
Additionally, two US Fulbright Scholars chose to complete their programs at the University of Sydney:
Daniel John, from the University of California, San Diego, will come to Sydney to work on a project which aims to develop a revolutionary surgical sealant, utilising a new biomaterials approach integrated with the landscape of pancreatic cancer biology.
Natalie McGowan, from Northeastern University, is researching how to empower educators with the resources they need to provide high-quality education about the HPV vaccination to young people.
