News Release | Success, Community
UTRGV faculty members Dr. Reto Felix, Dr. Zhijun Qiao, Dr. Thanh Luong, and Dr. Adam Boggs have been selected as Fulbright U.S. Scholars for 2025–2026, marking a record-setting year for the university. Their projects will take them to Spain, Brazil, Vietnam, and Mexico, where they will advance international research and collaboration while representing UTRGV on the global stage. (UTRGV archival photo)
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Academics, Faculty Focus
By Amanda A. Taylor-Uchoa
RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – JUNE 24, 2025 – They’ll soon be boarding flights to Spain, Brazil, Vietnam and Mexico, but their journeys started long before the passport stamps.
Four UTRGV faculty members have been named Fulbright U.S. Scholars for the 2025-2026 academic year, marking a record-setting achievement for the university’s global engagement efforts.
With projects covering topics from sustainable tourism, nonlinear wave theory, biomedical education and borderland architecture, each scholar will represent UTRGV on the international stage – advancing research, building partnerships and bringing new perspectives back to the Rio Grande Valley.
The selected faculty members include:
“The Fulbright recognition is a significant milestone for UTRGV,” said Dr. Luis H. Zayas, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “It reflects the caliber of our faculty and our focus on impactful, internationally recognized academic endeavors.”
The Fulbright Program, one of the most prestigious academic exchange initiatives worldwide, fosters international collaboration through research, teaching, and service.
“A Fulbright award directly supports our goals of building UTRGV’s global reputation and academic reach,” said Dr. Jaime Ortiz, vice provost for International Study Programs and Fulbright U.S. Scholar advisor. “Each awardee extends our mission across borders and helps bring global perspectives home.”
THE SCHOLARS
Dr. Reto Felix – Spain
Felix will conduct research and teach at the University of Málaga, focusing on how “sun-and-beach” tourist destinations can shift toward more sustainable, cultural tourism models.
“This topic resonates globally and locally, especially in areas like Texas and California,” he said. “Professionally, I’m looking to develop lasting research partnerships and student exchanges. Personally, immersion in a different academic culture will broaden my perspective.”
His goal is to return with not just new knowledge, but new connections that can open doors for UTRGV students and faculty.
Qiao will collaborate with the Federal University of São Carlos on nonlinear wave modeling and simulations with applications in fluid dynamics, optics and biology.
“This builds directly on my research at UTRGV,” Qiao said. “Only 12 scholars across all disciplines were selected for Brazil this year, and I’m honored to represent UTRGV.”
He anticipates co-authored publications, joint proposals and new international research pathways that will enrich both institutions.
Luong, a medical laboratory scientist and lecturer in biomedical sciences, is seeking a Fulbright Specialist project focused on training and capacity-building in health education.
“This is a way to bring UTRGV’s spirit of mentorship and inclusion to a global setting,” she said. “It’s also an opportunity to learn from diverse academic cultures and return with new tools for supporting students.”
She called the program ideal for educators seeking short, high-impact international collaborations.
Boggs, an assistant professor of art and design, will travel across border cities from El Paso to Tijuana to document 276 obelisk-shaped boundary markers that trace the U.S.-Mexico divide.
“My project focuses on counter-mapping these monuments and engaging local communities in conversations around space, architecture and identity,” he said. “I see it as an act of co-creating knowledge grounded in place.”
His host institution is the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Tijuana, where he will conduct archival research and continue a long-standing collaboration with Tijuanense artist Marcos Ramirez.
Boggs brings the research directly into his teaching, using frameworks such as “urban ecologies” and “fronterizo identity” to examine how built environments shape culture and politics.
For more information about UTRGV’s international initiatives, visit utrgv.edu/isp or learn more about the Fulbright Program at fulbrightscholars.org.
ABOUT UTRGV
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) was created by the Texas Legislature in 2013 as the first major public university of the 21st century in Texas. This transformative initiative provided the opportunity to expand educational opportunities in the Rio Grande Valley, including a new School of Medicine and a School of Podiatry, and made it possible for residents of the region to benefit from the Permanent University Fund – a public endowment contributing support to the University of Texas System and other institutions.
UTRGV has campuses and off-campus research and teaching sites throughout the Rio Grande Valley including Brownsville (formerly The University of Texas at Brownsville campus), Edinburg (formerly The University of Texas-Pan American campus), Harlingen, Weslaco, McAllen, Port Isabel, Rio Grande City and South Padre Island. UTRGV, a comprehensive academic institution, enrolled its first class in the fall of 2015; the School of Medicine welcomed its first class in the summer of 2016, and the School of Podiatric Medicine in the fall of 2022.