Fulbright Scholar Expands His Horizons

It's not often that postdoctoral researchers can travel to the homeland of their ancestors to conduct their studies. But this opportunity presented itself to Joseph Ciardi, who received a Fulbright fellowship to spend nine months doing research this winter at the University of Pisa in Italy. The Fulbright Program provides opportunities for two-way exchanges, and fellowships are awarded to bachelor's degree recipients, graduate students, and other young professionals seeking international experience and career development.

Ciardi, whose adviser is horticulturist Michael Orzolek, completed his Ph.D. work in horticulture this past fall and is continuing his research in Italy, studying gene transfer in tomatoes. "Commercial growers sometimes have difficulty transplanting greenhouse-grown tomatoes into the field because the plants are not used to the cooler temperatures outdoors," Ciardi says. "They're often slow to start new growth after transplanting. I've been working with biologist Jill Deikman, trying to insert a gene into tomato plants that will cause increased levels of ethylene hormone. There's some evidence that increasing ethylene production can improve cold tolerance. We grew the ethylene-producing plants last summer, and I'm now evaluating their performance."

Ciardi is one of about 800 U.S. citizens who will study or work in more than 100 nations this year as Fulbright Scholars. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of several criteria, including a vita and a project plan illustrating how the international work will benefit others. The U.S. Congress created the Fulbright Program in 1946, immediately after World War II, to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. Senator J. William Fulbright sponsored the legislation, envisioning it as a step toward building an alternative to armed conflict. In a 1983 speech, he summed up the importance of the Fulbright Program, saying, "Educational exchange can turn nations into people, contributing as no other form of communication can to the humanizing of international relations."

For Ciardi, this was a chance to explore his own roots as well as further his horticultural research. "I've gotten to meet members of my family that I might not have otherwise, and I've seen the small town where my grandfather farmed and the house where my grandmother was born," he says. "It's nice being back in the old country."

–Rose Pruyne