The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects.  Candidates submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S.

During their grants, Fulbrighters meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences.  The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.  

Zadie's project title is: "Solar Microgrids in Uttar Pradesh’s Remote Communities," and she will examine factors that contribute to the proliferation of solar microgrids in India's remote villages in Uttar Pradesh. She will focus on the role of the Indian government's national solar program as well as challenges and barriers faced during the development of solar microgrids. She also hopes to volunteer with the Women's Solar Initiative at Barefoot College, an organization that invites women throughout the developing world to learn how to engineer various solar energy systems.  

Zadie's research will be advised by Dr. Gaddipati Prasad, Director of Off-Grid and Decentralized Solar Application at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Mr. Debajit Palit, Associate Director of the Social Transformation Division at The Energy and Resources Institute. Her research builds on her professional experience at the Solar Energy Industries Association as well as her studies and extra-curricular activities at Maryland and Montgomery College.  Upon her return, Zadie plans to continue working in sustainable energy development.

For more information about the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, go here.