Amy Treonis receives Fulbright Scholar Award

March 27, 2012

Amy Treonis, Associate Professor of Biology, has been granted a Fulbright Scholar award for five months of teaching and research at the Kathmandu University in Nepal.

Dr. Treonis, whose expertise is in Microbiology and Soil Ecology,  has offered to teach undergraduate Environmental Science courses at KU, and to organize a one-day workshop on the study of nematodes –  microscopic roundworms living in the soil -- for faculty and graduate students.  She will also investigate how nematode communities respond to soil improvements in Nepalese agrosystems.  As agriculture, especially subsistence farming, is important to the Nepalese economy, Dr. Treonis will help to address issues of loss of soil fertility due to over-cultivation and erosion.

Her coursework will include both classroom and laboratory experiences, and she will integrate her students into her research project, which will inform the development of sustainable agricultural practices in Nepal.  She also looks forward to mentoring young female scholars in Nepal as they grow into the next generation of environmental scientists.

Dr. Treonis has taught at the University of Richmond since 2005.  She completed her PhD in Ecology at Colorado State University and her BA in Biology at Dominican University.  She has published articles in a number of scientific journals and has lectured at many professional meetings and at other universities.

The principal purpose of the Fulbright program, now more than 60 years old, is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of more than 150 participating countries.  Grants are made possible through funds appropriated annually by the U.S. Congress, and, in many cases, by contributions from partner countries and/or the private sector.