Dr. Raghu Echempati, professor of Mechanical Engineering, will end 2008 on a quieter note than he started it. He began 2008 far from home as a visiting professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. Echempati travelled to India as a Fulbright Scholar to participate in co-teaching two technical courses in the Mechanical Engineering department at IIT.

He and his wife spent almost four months, from January through April, in India working, travelling and volunteering. In addition to the courses at ITT, Echempati visited several engineering colleges and presented lecture and papers at seminars and conferences in the areas of Design Simulation, Finite Element Analysis and Basics of Metal Forming Basics and Simulation Technologies.

The Echempatis spent May through July in Germany, where he taught one of Kettering University’s study abroad programs and participated in professional conferences. Echempati has been active in assisting students with study abroad experiences, particularly in Germany and Austria.

The Fulbright program is named for Senator J. William Fulbright, who promoted fostering leadership, learning and empathy between cultures. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State.

The Fulbright program is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.

In 2007, the program awarded approximately six thousand grants at a cost of more than $262 million, to U.S. students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 155 countries, and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States.

“I think the Fulbright program is a great opportunity,” said Echempati. “I was able to meet with 40 other Fulbright Scholars from all over the world at a conference. It was amazing the diversity of interests we had, everything from Indian dancing to rain water management.”

Echempati also sat on a board to select students from U.S. to go to India to study. He was disappointed that only one engineering student had applied to the program. “The program in India is looking for visiting scholars from US to come for one term,” he said, “I would like to see more engineers avail themselves of this opportunity.”

Originally from Guntur, India, Echempati currently lives in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Written by Dawn Hibbard
810.762.9865
dhibbard@kettering.edu