The associate professor of biology will travel to Belgium next year to continue her work on the green potential of purple bacteria.
Arpita Bose, associate professor of biology, has been selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar for 2024-2025. The award, granted by the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Program, will allow her to spend three months continuing her bacterial research at the University of Mons in Belgium.
Bose will study a class of purple “phototrophic” bacteria that can harvest light for energy. She’s interested in harnessing the microbes for green technologies, including the production of bioplastics from biological compounds found in wastewater.
“These bacteria have a lot of exciting potential applications that could help protect the environment and slow climate change,” Bose said. “The Fulbright award gives me the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues who are pushing the envelope in this field. I want to bring some of that European philosophy to my lab at WashU.”
Fulbright is the U.S. government’s leading international educational exchange program. It is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and those of other countries.
In the past 10 years, at least six Arts & Sciences faculty members have been named Fulbright U.S. Scholars. More than 120 WashU faculty and staff members have been named grantees since 1959, according to the program website.
