News Release

Barkha Gurbani, who received her bachelor's degree in public health from The Johns Hopkins University on May 20, has been awarded a grant from the Fulbright Student Program for the 2004-2005 academic year. She is one of seven Johns Hopkins students and graduates this spring to receive a Fulbright grant, one of the most prestigious awards in academia.

Graduating Phi Beta Kappa, Gurbani, 21, will be a Fulbright Scholar to India — the second consecutive year Johns Hopkins has sent a graduating senior there on a Fulbright. She will be conducting research at Aids Research and Control Center in Mumbai and completing a public service project for women widowed by AIDS. Gurbani also earned a minor in Women Gender and Sexuality Studies and wrote her senior thesis about the feminization of the AIDS epidemic. As a Residents Advisor and active member of the Interfaith Council, Barkha has been an important leader on campus, especially in the Indian community. For the past two years she has served on the executive board of the Hindu Students Council where she has also helped to organize very successful and well attended Diwali festivals in celebration of the Indian New Year.

Created in 1946, the Fulbright Program aims to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of people, knowledge and skills. The program awards approximately 1,000 grants annually and currently operates in more than 140 countries. Successful U.S. applicants utilize their grants to undertake self-designed programs in a broad range of disciplines including the social sciences, business, communication, performing arts, physical sciences, engineering and education.

Gurbani is the daughter of Naren and Deepali Gurbani of Orange, Calif. A color digital photo of Gurbani is available upon request to amycowles@jhu.edu. For more information on the Fulbright program, go to www.iie.org.