HOUGHTON, N.Y. – Thomas Gurley, Houghton alumnus class of 1968, has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to do research at the Institute for Single Crystals in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

From January to June of 2007, Gurley will conduct fundamental research on intramolecular hydrogen bonding in heterocyclic amides using chromatographic and spectroscopic analytical techniques. After majoring in chemistry at Houghton College, Gurley earned his doctorate from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio. He currently serves as the Technical Director for Hospira, Inc. (formerly Abbott Laboratories) in Ashland, Ohio, where he works to develop formulas for the production of rubber, latex, and other plastic pharmaceutical components. 

Gurley’s wife and fellow Houghton alum Jayne (Looman ‘68) Gurley will also journey to Ukraine and teach at the Providence Education Center, a newly formed Christian college there.

Gurley is one of approximately 800 U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright Scholar Program in 2007. This international educational exchange program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has exchanged nearly 273,500 people – 102,900 Americans who have studied, taught or researched abroad and 170,600 students, scholars and teachers from other countries who have engaged in similar activities in the United States. The program operates in over 150 countries worldwide, seeking to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the rest of the world.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. 

For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, visit www.exchanges.state.gov.