INTERNATIONAL GRADUATE STUDENTS CONTRIBUTE TO THE

ECONOMY OF ALABAMA

Alabama Council of Graduate DeansDraft - November, 2011

International Graduate Students Are Leaders in

Innovation, Competitiveness and Community Service to

the State of Alabama

Chinese graduate student Ning Sun and her colleagues have developed a new process to extract pure high molecular weight chitin directly from raw shrimp shells. The pure product can be spun into fibers which could become high value medical products such as wound care bandages, sutures, and drug delivery agents.

International Graduates Developing New “Green” Materials

UA Ph.D. student Gaurav Mehta from India is identifying potential funding options to speed the development of the Alabama highway system.

International Graduate Students Improving Transportation

International Graduate Student Studying Dementia

Ozioma studies how neuropathological alterations lead to cognitive impairment which, in turn, leads to restrictions in the ability to perform everyday activities, such as driving and financial management, among persons with cognitive impairment, such as in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Ozioma OkonkwoMedical PsychologyHome Country: Nigeria

Chinese graduate student Y. Zhang and Romanian student Catalina Casaru in the UA Department of Kinesiology have created personal cooling devices for industrial workers in high-heat environments.

Graduate Students Promoting Worker Safety

Manuj Ahuja is testing an ancient eastern herbal remedy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease. His work could ease the suffering from a brutal degenerative disease.

Manuj AhujaPharmaceutical SciencesHome Country: India

International Graduate Student Studying Kidney Disease

Subhashini BolisettyCell BiologyHome Country: India

Acute kidney injury is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients. Subhashini studies Heme Oxygenase-I, an anti-oxidant protein, and its possible protective role in acute kidney injury.

International Graduate Developing New Methods to Search Images

Xin ChenComputer ScienceHome Country: China

Xin Chen’s research has discovered new ways to search for specific images or videos, beyond doing a search for specific text in the annotation of a picture or movie.

International Graduates Improving Women’s Health

Olusegun Fagbohun (Ph.D., Pathobiology, 2010) researches targeted breast cancer drug delivery using engineered bacteriophages. This technique reduces side effects for chemotherapy patients improving the lives of millions of women.

Olusegun Fagbohun

Biomedical Sciences

Home Country: Nigeria

International Graduates Promoting World Health

Firas Abbas came to UAB as a Fulbright Scholar in 2009 and earned a Master’s of Public Health. He studies the mental health of Iraqi women who live in areas of conflict. He has returned to Iraq to work for health reform.

Firas AbbasPublic HealthHome Country: Iraq

International Graduates Strengthen the Alabama and

National Economies

Dr. Gabriela Gurau from Romania, is CEO of 525 Solutions, Inc., a faculty start-up company housed in the Bama Technology Incubator on UA’s campus. The company creates clean feedstocks which can be used directly in chemicals and fuel technologies.

International Graduates Creating New Biotechnology Companies

Graduates Analyzing Satellite Imagery

Dr. Rahul Ramachandran (Ph.D., 2002) is a senior spatial systems architect at Oakridge National Laboratory. He has applied data mining techniques to satellite imagery. He received the Presidential Early Career award for Scientists and Engineers in 2010.

Preston Reinheimer (left), UA Master’s recipient in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, and Dr. Samit Roy create spacecraft fuel tanks made with aerogels, novel structural materials weighing less than 10% of standard materials.

Graduate Students Developing Novel Materials for Use in Spacecraft

Graduates Improving Weather Forecasting

Dr. Jianglong Zhang (Ph.D., 2004) works on satellite remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols and assimilating the data in near-real-time into weather forecast models. He received the Presidential Early Career award for Scientists and Engineers in 2009.

International Graduates Strengthening International Business

Min Carter studies organizational change, and how western theories of management apply to Chinese corporate institutions. Her work has been widely published, and she was the recipient of Auburn University’s Distinguished Dissertation Award in 2010.

Min CarterManagementHome Country: China

International Graduates Educating Alabama Children

Dil Uswatte received an M.Ed. In Educational Leadership and is now Assistant Principal at Rocky Ridge Elementary School

Dil UswatteEducational LeadershipHome Country: Canada

International Graduate Students in Alabama

Colleges and Universities

Alabama Institutions with the Highest Numbers of

International Graduate Students1. Auburn (911)2. UAB (425)3. UA (398)4. UNA (283)5. USA (257)6. Troy (240)7. UAH (198)

Total International Graduate Student enrollment (2010): 2,727

Source: Alabama Statewide Student Database, Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Accessed 11/1/2011

Economic Impact of Foreign Students in Alabama Colleges and Universities

Number of International Students Studying in Alabama (2010):6,364

Total Number of International Graduate Students Studying in Alabama (2010):

2,727

Estimated Spending by these Students:$123 million

Source: Open Doors Fact Sheet: Alabama, Institute of International Education. http://www.iie.org/Research-and-Publications/Open-Doors/Data/~/media/Files/Corporate/Open-Doors/Fact-Sheets/State/Alabama2010edit.ashx. Accessed 11/1/2011

Leading Places of Origin for International Graduate Students in Alabama

1. China (30.9%)2. India (26.5%)3. Taiwan (4.1%)4. South Korea (2.9%)5. Nepal (2.6%)6. Turkey (2.1%)

Alabama Statewide Student Database, Alabama Commission on Higher Education. Accessed 11/1/2011