U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) – The Fulbright Specialist Program

Fulbright Specialist Program Project at University of Perugia

Fulbright Specialist: Ann Anderson, Agnes S. MacDonald Professor of Mechanical Engineering and director of energy studies

This prestigious Fulbright Program will enable Specialist Anderson to spend April 2022 at the University of Perugia in Perugia, Italy to enhance the education of and research opportunities for PhD, graduate, and undergraduate students in the areas of aerogel fabrication, properties, and characterization for applications in sustainable buildings.

Anderson will share her knowledge and expertise on aerogels and their impact on sustainable buildings with PhD students in Energy and Sustainable Development through a series of seminars on methods for fabricating aerogels, methods for measuring aerogel properties, aesthetic aerogels and the use of aerogels in building insulation, glazing systems and pollution mitigation. She will also work in the lab with PhD students deepening their knowledge of thermal acoustic, optical, color rendering, mechanical, and chemical properties.

For graduate students in thermotechnical systems (impianti termotecnici), Anderson will give an introductory seminar on aerogels and their properties in order to allow each student to develop a project on energy performance simulations of buildings’ glazing systems incorporating aerogels. She will then meet one-on-one with students to review their work.

Anderson will also provide undergraduate students in technical physics (fisica tecnica) with an introductory seminar on basic knowledge of innovative super-insulating materials with high performance (aerogel in monolithic and granular form, transparent applications, opaque applications).

Throughout the stay, Anderson will further explore and develop exchange opportunities between Union and the University of Perugia by meeting with the International Relations Area Office and sharing and discussing opportunities to study in the US with students.

Union’s Aerogel Lab and Prof. Cinzia Buratti from the Department of Engineering at the University of Perugia have a long-term project on the Hydrophobicity and Ageing Influence on Monolithic Aerogels (HAIMA).