SOCORRO, N.M. --Materials Engineering professor Dr. Nikolai Kalugin landed a Fulbright Global Scholarship that will fund his sabbatical research in graphene with collaborators in England and Chile.

“This is a very prestigious and successful program,” Kalugin said. “It’s a significant boost to my career, but also brings high respect and visibility to our university. The Fulbright Global Scholarship Program picks people who can serve as ambassadors for the United States.”

Vice President of Research Dr. Van Romero said Kalugin is very deserving of the accolades that accompany a Fulbright award.

“This is outstanding that yet another one of our faculty has gotten a Fulbright award,” Romero said. “These are among the most prestigious awards because it allows them to interact with people who are leading the world in their area.  This shows our faculty members are on par with the best of the best.”

His research partners are Dr. Andrea Ferrari, director of the Cambridge Graphene Centre at the University of Cambridge and Dr. Luis Foa Torres, of the University of Chile in Santiago. Ferrari and Foa Torres are among top scientists worldwide who are working on graphene and two-dimensional materials.

“This is a continuation of research we started a long time ago,” Kalugin said. “Scientifically, this is a well-established collaboration. We have a pretty clear plan of what to do.”

Graphene is one-or few-layer carbon that shows exceptional properties. Kalugin and his colleagues will be taking graphene research to the next level, and looking for new ways to commercialize their discoveries.

“The fundamental properties of graphene have been demonstrated.” Kalugin said. “Now, it’s time to prove to the world what we can do with graphene in sense of practical things.”

“We’ve looked at the fundamental properties and we’re finding more and more applications,” Kalugin said. “We are looking at photo detectors and materials for pharmaceutical separation. One of my goals is to work and learn about how to market graphene and establish business partnerships, making the right connections. It’s all about how to bring products to the market. We will work on the engineering, innovation, marketing, and, potentially, spin-off companies – from science to practice.”

Kalugin has been a faculty member at New Mexico Tech since 2006. He earned his Ph.D. from the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Science. He spent three years on the faculty at Texas A&M before coming to Socorro.

– NMT –