Patricia Search, professor of communication and media in the School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), has been selected as an inaugural member of the Fulbright Ambassadors Program, a flagship initiative established by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission to enhance the academic and cultural exchange between the U.S. and Australia through alumni of the Fulbright Program.

Through the new Fulbright Ambassadors Program, the commission seeks to engage distinguished members of the Australian-American Fulbright Program to influence and connect with Fulbright applicants, scholars, alumni, sponsors, partners, and other stakeholders. The ambassadorship period is two years.

As a Fulbright Ambassador, Search will work with international scholars to build professional networks that foster discussion and collaborations that enhance research and academic programs. She will assist the Commission by promoting awareness of the Fulbright Program and identifying prospective scholarship applicants.

Search’s appointment will allow her to demonstrate the concept and value of The New Polytechnic on an international level. The foundation of The New Polytechnic is the recognition that global challenges and opportunities are so great that they cannot be addressed by the most talented person working alone. The New Polytechnic enables collaboration using the latest, most advanced tools, technologies, and approaches to address the complex problems of the world.

The Australian-American Fulbright Commission has facilitated the exchange of scholars and students between Australia and the U.S. for more than 65 years. The program’s nearly 5,000 Australian and American alumni are part of a larger network of over 300,000 from Fulbright Exchange Programs in more than 150 countries worldwide.

Search was awarded a Fulbright Senior Specialists Grant in Communications and Journalism in 2003-04. She worked with the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, and the University of Western Sydney on multimedia projects for online programs in indigenous studies.

At Rensselaer, Search teaches courses in visual design theory, interactive narrative, data visualization, and user interface design for interactive multimedia computing. In her current art work and multimedia research, she is designing interactive multimedia installations that explore the aesthetics of space, time, and action in multisensory design.

She has had 39 solo exhibitions and multimedia art installations and participated in over 150 juried exhibitions throughout the world including several SIGGRAPH Art Shows, ISEA (International Symposium on Electronic Art) symposia, and the first United Nations Conference on Women in Beijing, China. Her artwork has been published in 20 international journals and three documentaries.

Search received the Creative Achievement Award from the International Visual Literacy Association. She was also awarded a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Computer Art.