PennWest Professor Wins Fulbright Scholarship for Artificial Intelligence Research in Brazil
PennWest Professor Wins Fulbright Scholarship for Artificial Intelligence Research in Brazil
Publish Date: 2026-05-20 08:25:00
Source Domain: www.explorejeffersonpa.com
- Dr. Mark Lennon, a professor at PennWest University, has been awarded a 2025-2026 Fulbright U.S. Scholarship for AI research.
- Lennon will spend May to September 2026 as a visiting scholar at Universidade da Amazônia in Belém, Pará, Brazil.
- His research will focus on developing AI-powered learning tools to enhance AI literacy and access particularly in the Portuguese-speaking and multilingual academic communities in the Brazilian Amazon.
- One major project is BelemLLM, a multilingual AI initiative tailored to the linguistic and cultural context of Amazonian Brazil.
- Lennon emphasizes the importance of inclusive AI development, highlighting that AI tools should reflect the languages, knowledge systems, and aspirations of often overlooked communities.
- The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, administered by the Institute of International Education, selects around 800 U.S. scholars annually for international academic exchanges.
- This Fulbright appointment marks Lennon’s second international assignment through the program; he previously earned a Fulbright Specialist designation in India in 2023.
