Dr. Stephen Silliman, dean of Trevecca’s School of STEM, has been selected as a 2023-2024 Fulbright U.S. Scholar for his research related to groundwater in regions of Africa, the Fulbright Scholarship Board and the U.S. Department of State announced recently.
During extended visits in the summers of 2024 and 2025, Silliman will extend his 25 years of research experience in West Africa by working with university colleagues in Benin and Nigeria to explore the development and protection of groundwater resources. The project will focus specifically on how these countries can further develop strategies to manage their critical long-term water supply. He is hopeful that Trevecca students will have the opportunity to travel to Benin and participate in the project.
Silliman is now a two-time recipient of the Fulbright Scholar Award. His prior selection for the honor in 1998 enabled him to share technical research with colleagues in Israel.
Silliman has also been active recently in other initiatives related to his passion for responsible groundwater use and development strategies. He spoke at a United Nations conference in May, contributing to a panel discussion on the role science plays in global development and affairs. Along with a panel of other experts in their fields, Silliman presented on the importance of groundwater and its sustainable development. This summer, he is spending several weeks in the African countries of Benin, Uganda and Ghana as part of a U.S. Agency for International Development project. That effort involves working with African universities and their partners to increase their capacity and impact in the area of sustainable development.
Since 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 participants from more than 160 countries - chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential - with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to solutions to challenges facing communities and the world.
