Three ASU students won Fulbright awards this month for one year of research abroad with all travel, living and academic expenses paid.
The Fulbright scholarship, awarded by the federal government, finances international exchanges aimed at increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries, according to the program's web site.
Urban development planning graduate student Jesus Lara, kinesiology senior Janet Staples and recent economics, finance and Spanish graduate Jonathan Beekman will travel to different countries to research issues in their specialty areas.
"I was surprised because it was really hard to get this," Lara said. "It's very competitive."
A total of 25 ASU students applied for the Fulbright and 5,300 students applied nationwide. The Fulbright is awarded to 1,000 students each year.
Janet Burke, associate dean of the Barrett Honors College and director of the office of national scholarship advisement, said ASU's record of Fulbright winners is twice the national average.
"While about 10 percent of applicants from other universities win the Fulbright, 20 percent of ASU applicants win," Burke said.
She added that the high number is because of the outstanding students and the faculty's connections to specialists abroad.
Fulbright contestants must apply for a particular country and find specialists to work with them on their research.
Lara, originally from Guadalajara, Mexico, will go to Randstad, Holland, to study the problems of urban development.
Lara said he will research ways to revitalize impoverished areas and housing.
"[I picked Holland] because there are more architecture and urban design projects being produced in this country than anywhere else in the world," Lara said.
Lara said Phoenix and the city where he will be studying are similar.
"Both regions are facing growth in population," he said.
In Oslo, Norway, Staples will research how the elderly adapt their movements to age-related problems with hearing and vision.
She will try to develop better rehabilitation techniques for people who have been in accidents, and study how people's movement reacts to changes in the environment.
"It's giving me a wonderful opportunity to do some research that I may not have ever had," Staples said.
Beekman, who was named the Outstanding Graduate from the W.P. Carey School of Business in December, will travel to Mexico to study international trade.
He plans to work at a business firm in Mexico and take coursework in Latin American international business at a university.
The three are the first to be recognized as Fulbright winners this year, but Burke said there could be more.
Students apply for the Fulbright in the fall and an ASU board selects nominees to send to the national committee in New York, Burke said. The committee members then send the finalists' applications to the country for which they applied and the country selects the winners.
Burke said 36 ASU students have won a Fulbright in the past 10 years.
"If we had more applicants, we'd probably be the top in the country," Burke said.
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Reach the reporter at sarah.muench@asu.edu.
