Brian Robitaille

2023 Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grantee

Hometown

Rocklin, CA

Major

Geophysics

College

The Graduate School; College of Science

 

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides post-baccalaureate funding for 8-12 months for individuals to study, research, or teach abroad while promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding.

Although Brian postponed his childhood dream of studying geological science through nearly ten years of service in the U.S. Army, the spark he had for this subject never faded from the time he was a kid who was curious about the source of earthquakes in his home state of California. The Open Study/Research Award will take Brian back to a familiar region of the world, since he was stationed in western Germany. Ironically, the inspiration for his Fulbright application grew out of a friendship that he forged years later with another Fulbright scholar, who came from Germany to work in the same research lab at Purdue.

On a path to earning a Ph.D. and becoming a professor of geophysics, Brian will continue this collaboration at Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg (TUBAF), located in eastern Germany. Taking the dataset from a high-resolution seismic reflection survey over Kentland crater in northwest Indiana to TUBAF, he will strengthen the relationship between TUBAF and his research group at Purdue. Brian looks forward to volunteering together with his German friend and research colleague at the local village fire station to engage in this community.