Simmonds Will Conduct Agricultural Research in Australia

Troy, N.Y. — Jeanette Simmonds, a doctoral candidate in the department of Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student scholarship to Australia in the field of Cultural and Intellectual History. She will use the grant to travel to Australia to conduct research on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) — an interdisciplinary field of agricultural science that aims to understand the relationship between legumes and soil bacteria (Rhizobia).

An electron micrograph of a legume root nodule produced through the infection of white clover by Rhizobium trifolii. Image courtesy of The Centre for Integrative Legume Research (CILR)

Simmonds will focus on the work of Australian scientists based in Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, Canberra, and Adelaide. She will interview scientists, attend science conferences, visit labs throughout the region, and conduct archival research. Simmonds’ research findings in Australia will complement her dissertation publication that will focus on a 20th century comparative history of BNF research in Australia, Western Europe, the United States, and Mexico.

“A primary aim of BNF research is to improve soil fertility and agricultural productivity without the use of nitrogen fertilizers, which are costly, energy intensive to produce and transport, and have adverse health and environmental effects, said Simmonds. “This award presents an opportunity to research Australia’s agricultural system that does not depend substantially on nitrogen fertilizers, to better understand localized, historically specific practices, and to study alternative methods of sustainable agricultural development.”

“The Fulbright award is a tremendous honor and validation — for Jeanette, for the field of the history of science, and for the department of Science and Technology Studies, an interdisciplinary field that examines the historical, cultural, and political dimensions of science and technology,” said Mike Fortun, associate professor and Simmonds’ adviser with Rensselaer’s School of Humanities and Social Sciences. “Jeanette’s scholarship makes a unique contribution to the history of plant sciences in general, and particularly to the long tradition of Australian research on the scientifically and economically important process of nitrogen fixation. We are very happy to see her accomplishments in this field recognized with this prestigious honor.”

Simmonds is one of more than 1,200 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2006-2007 academic year through the Fulbright Student Program. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. Among the thousands of prominent Fulbright alumni are: Craig Barrett, chairman of the board of Intel Corporation; Mohamed Benaissa, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Morocco; Raoul Cantero, Justice, Florida Supreme Court; Luis Ernesto Derbez, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mexico; Renee Fleming, soprano; Gish Jen, writer; Dolores Kendrick, Poet Laureate of the District of Columbia; Daniel Libeskind, architect; Aneesh Raman, CNN Baghdad correspondent; Robert Shaye, co-chairman and co-CEO, New Line Cinema; Ruth Simmons, president, Brown University; Javier Solana, Foreign Policy Chief, European Union; and Muhammed Yunus, managing director and founder of the Grameen Bank.

As part of the Fulbright award, Simmonds will be hosted by the ARC Centre of Excellence For Integrative Legume Research (CILR) at the University of Queensland in Australia. CILR is a research network of plant scientists conducting high-quality, cutting-edge research into legumes and other plant species. Scientists aim to understand how plant cells communicate, grow, and differentiate. Research into plant physiology, and molecular and cell biology is providing fundamental insights into developing enhanced food production, agricultural sustainability, environmental quality and products for human health, according to the center’s mission.

“I believe that there are lessons to be learned by comparing the strengths and weaknesses of diverse agricultural systems and approaches to biological research,” said Simmonds. “Australian scientists have been leaders in the field of legume-Rhizobia symbiosis since the 1940s, and this Fulbright award presents a wonderful opportunity for me to better understand Australian scientific culture, the breadth of scientific research being conducted there, and its application to Australia’s agricultural development. I look forward to meeting with the scientists and scholars of science who are working in the BNF field, and hope that we can move forward in our goals of understanding the global impact of this process that is designed to develop new sustainable agricultural techniques and technologies.”  

Simmonds’ dissertation “Promising Symbiosis: A History of the Field of Biological Nitrogen Fixation, 1930-2000” focuses on North American and European BNF research. The dissertation explores the history of the BNF community, describes key conceptual and technological discoveries made by BNF researchers, and serves as a social and institutional analysis of the emergence of the international BNF community, among other things. For her dissertation, Simmonds interviewed more than 90 scientists at scientific conferences and during visits to labs in Mexico, the U.S., England, Europe, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and France. She has received several grants and awards from the National Science Foundation and Rensselaer. 

A native of Decorah, Iowa, Simmonds received her B.A. in sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz; and an M.S. in science and technology studies from Rensselaer. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in science and technology studies with a concentration in the history of science. Simmonds will defend her dissertation in August.

Simmonds begins her one-year research program in September.

About Fulbright
The Fulbright Program, America’s flagship international educational exchange program, is sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has exchanged approximately 273,500 people — 102,900 Americans who have studied, taught or researched abroad and 170,600 students, scholars, and teachers from other countries who have engaged in similar activities in the United States. The program operates in over 150 countries worldwide.

For more information, go to: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/home.html.