3 UCI Lecturers Win Fulbrights

Three faculty members from UC Irvine have been named 1996 Fulbright Scholars, bringing the total number of recipients to receive the honor at the campus to 45, university administrators announced Friday.

The 1996 recipients are Derek Dunn-Rankin, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering; Pat W. Williams, associate professor of studio arts; and Harry P. Bowen, lecturer of economics and social sciences.

They were selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the U.S. Information Agency.

Fulbright Scholarships are awards by the federal government for research, teaching or graduate study abroad. Their purpose is to promote better understanding between U.S. citizens and people in other countries. About 110 countries worldwide participate in the Fulbright program.

For his scholarship, Dunn-Rankin is continuing his work in England. He researches optical measurements, internal combustion engine control, tobacco smoke and laser diagnostics.

Williams, who teaches photography at UC Irvine and has worked as a professional photographer for print and broadcast media, is teaching and studying in South Africa.

Bowen is lecturing in Madagascar.

“I’m proud and thrilled that once again UCI faculty have been recognized for outstanding achievement,” UC Irvine Chancellor Laurel L. Wilkening said in a statement Friday. “It is accomplishments such as these that has put UCI in the top echelon of research universities.”

The first Fulbright Scholar at UC Irvine was named in 1951.

Twenty educators from eight University of California campuses received Fulbright Scholarships for 1996. A total of 49 were named statewide.