Award will fund research and teaching in France
Hugh
Markey
Grilli
will lecture at SeaTech, the engineering school of the University of Toulon,
give seminars and work with colleagues on collaborative research projects
related to extreme ocean waves and ocean renewable energy (wind and waves).
Unlike
other Fulbright awards that are dedicated to specific disciplines such as
engineering or science, the Tocqueville is given to a single recipient at any
given time and accepts candidates from any discipline.
“It’s
extremely competitive because you’re going against physicists, medical doctors,
all the disciplines,” said Grilli.
Fulbright recipients engage in cutting-edge research and expand their professional networks, often continuing research collaborations started abroad and laying the groundwork for forging future partnerships between institutions.
As Fulbright Scholar alumni, their careers are enriched by joining a network of thousands of esteemed scholars, many of whom are leaders in their fields. Fulbright alumni include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 88 Pulitzer Prize recipients, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.
It
will be Grilli’s fourth sabbatical, so he knows the trip will involve more work
than some may think. “My experience is that you end up working almost double
schedules because when you get home at 4 p.m. over there, it’s 10 here, and you
start getting the U.S. activities.”
Grilli
has been a visiting professor in France, Germany, Spain, and Morocco and has
lectured in many other countries, including China, Japan and Korea. He is the
recipient of 7 international awards, including the 2008 C.H. Kim Award of
the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE) “in
recognition of outstanding technical achievements in and exceptional
contribution to floating-body hydrodynamics.”
Grilli
is one of over 800 U.S. citizens who will conduct research and/or teach abroad
for the 2021-22 academic year through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program. He
will spend much of his time doing ocean engineering.
“SeaTech
is exploring a lot of trends for ocean renewable energy, including floating
offshore wind turbines,” Grilli said. In addition to the main institution where
he will be based, there will be visits to other laboratories, all related to
ocean engineering or ocean renewable energy.
“Over
the years we have made many connections in France, so it’s sort of going home;
there is a feeling of going back to a culture that we know, but at the same
time we bring in the American culture. Academia is quite different there, and
that’s the whole idea of this Fulbright exchange.”
Grilli
has been a member of the URI faculty since 1991. He received a master of
science degree in civil engineering, a master of science degree in
oceanography, and a Ph.D. from the University of Liège (Belgium).
Hugh
Markey, a freelancer, wrote this release.