Here are three NC State faculty members who have been named 2025-26 Fulbright Scholars, with their respective colleges and research focuses:
Hudson Ashrafi, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Ashrafi, an associate professor in the Department of Horticultural Science, leads the blueberry breeding and genomics program. His Fulbright scholarship will support research in turkey aimed at identifying traits that enhance sustainability and climate resilience in blueberries. Specifically, he will investigate the genetic basis of parthenocarpy, a trait that allows fruit to develop without fertilization, which could lead to more stable yields even with less-than-ideal pollination conditions.Additionally, Ashrafi will teach a graduate-level course at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University on genomic data analysis using bioinformatics tools, focusing on equipping future plant scientists with the computational skills needed for crop enhancement.
Adolfo Escobedo, College of Engineering
An associate professor in the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Escobedo’s Fulbright project is supported by Fondazione CON IL SUD. His work aims to promote and advance the use of principled decision-making methodologies in the development of southern Italy. He will teach a course on applied social choice topics to engineering students at the University of Naples Federico II. Furthermore, Escobedo will collaborate with the university’s Optimization and Problem Solving Laboratory to enhance the sustainability and efficiency of last-mile logistics. this collaboration will involve developing service districting methodologies to strategically divide large service areas into more manageable delivery territories.Tim Horn, College of Engineering
Horn, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, will be a Fulbright Scholar working with researchers at Politecnico di Milano in Milan, Italy. His project focuses on improving the inspection process for metal parts manufactured using electron beam 3D printing, a technology widely used in aerospace and other high-tech sectors. By integrating advanced sensors and machine learning,his research aims to detect defects and material features in real time during the printing process.This innovation has the potential to eliminate the need for time-consuming post-printing inspections, thereby enabling the faster and more reliable on-demand manufacturing of critical custom components.
