Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Awards are for promising New Zealand graduate students to undertake postgraduate study or research at US institutions in fields related to science and innovation.
Approximately seven awards are granted annually, valued at up to US$50,000 (plus NZ$4,000 travel funding) for up to one year of study or research in the US. Students undertaking multi-year Masters or PhD degrees have the opportunity to apply for additional funding of up to US$40,000 towards their second year of study.
These awards are offered in partnership with the Science and Innovation group of the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE), the lead agency driving the science and innovation sector in New Zealand.
The awards are available in fields of science and innovation targeted to support New Zealand’s economic, social, environmental and cultural needs, and to build international science connections. This includes, but it is not limited to, science research of the highest quality; areas with relevance to current and emerging New Zealand industry, social and environmental needs; areas with potential to broaden the economy and increase connections between research and industries; sectors of future need or growth; areas supporting Vision Matauranga – unlocking the science and innovation potential of Māori knowledge, resources and people.
Fulbright New Zealand Graduate Awards can be used towards a Masters or PhD programme, or grantees can participate as a Visiting Student Researcher (VSR). A VSR allows grantees to spend between 6-12 months studying or researching a topic or proposed project in the US, usually as part of a degree programme within New Zealand. This can be an attractive option for those pursuing a graduate degree at a New Zealand institution, when research in the US would supplement or aid their programme. A VSR does not require full graduate school admission into a US institution, and instead requires a letter of invitation from a host institution.
Cameron (Cam) Young
Cam Young from Hastings will research chronic disease progression, focusing on how diet during pregnancy causes epigenetic changes in offspring at the Wisconsin Institute of Discovery, University of Wisconsin–Madison in Wisconsin, and nutritional public health interventions at the Centre for Indigenous Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, in Arizona and New Mexico.
Cam graduated with a BSc (Hons First Class) in 2022 and is partway through a PhD and MB ChB at the University of Otago.
Eric Shen
Eric Shen from Auckland will complete a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia.
Eric graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons First Class) in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Auckland in New Zealand in 2024.
Laura Gemmell-Sinnott (Kahungunu, Tūwharetoa, Waikato, Ngāruahine, Raukawa, Pahauwera)
Laura Gemmell-Sinnott from Hastings will research health policy design in sexual and reproductive health with a focus on Indigenous health equity at Columbia University, New York City, towards a PhD at the University of Otago.
Laura graduated with a BHSc from the University of Otago in 2021 and a MHSc (Distinction) in 2023 from Massey University.
Katherine (Katie) Ellis
Katherine Ellis from Christchurch will research the influence of the mechanical microenvironment on endometriosis behaviour at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Katherine graduated with a BE (Hons First Class) in 2022 from the University of Canterbury, where she is also currently a PhD student.
Sophie Couper
Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Awards
Sophie Couper, from Tairāwhiti and Whanganui, will be completing a Master of Public Health at Columbia University in New York City, New York.
Sophie graduated from University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) and Bachelor of Medical Science Honours (First class) in 2022. She is currently working at Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti in Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
Nina Opacic
Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Award
Nina Opacic from Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington will complete an LLM in Environment and Energy Law from New York University (NYU) in New York City, New York.
Nina graduated with an LLB (Hons First Class) and a BA in International Relations and Political Science from Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University in 2019.