Robert McNown has been awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for a project to help train and better equip Vietnamese economists. He will be in Vietnam from September through January to teach econometrics at Hanoi National Economics University. Econometrics is the statistical modeling of economic phenomena, such as growth or recession.

“Over the years I have developed computerbased instructional materials for econometrics,” Robert said. “For my Fulbright project in Vietnam, I will be adapting these materials to open-source programs that are available on the Internet to make econometric tools accessible to researchers who are unable to purchase expensive proprietary software.”

Robert’s 2006 Fulbright award is the second of his career. From 1979 to 1981, he was a Fulbright lecturer in Nepal, teaching econometrics to students who had only primitive calculators. Four of his Nepalese students and colleagues followed him back to CU-Boulder and eventually earned doctoral degrees.

Robert has also been a visiting professor at the University of Sydney and the People’s University in Beijing, and a faculty member for Semester at Sea. “I like to challenge my world view, learn from different cultures and get new perspectives on my American life and the American economic system,” he said.

The Fulbright Scholar Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Established in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the program’s purpose is to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement and because they have demonstrated extraordinary leadership potential in their fields.