The University of Washington Information School and the University of British Columbia's School of Library, Archival & Information Studies are pleased to jointly announce Jill Palzkill Woelfer has been selected for a Fulbright Award to Canada, which she will use to fund an eight-month stay at SLAIS. The award is in support of Woelfer's research into the ways that homeless young people use information systems, such as Facebook, and personal digital technologies, such as mobile phones.

While at SLAIS, she will conduct and complete a portion of her dissertation research, a comparative study between homeless young people and service providers in Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, Wash. An alumna of the UW iSchool's Master of Science in Information Management program and current iSchool Ph.D. student, Woelfer will particpate in a number of activities while at SLAIS, including workshops and other discussions with SLAIS Ph.D. students, and will present a summary of her research in a public presentation. Woelfer expects to complete and defend her dissertation in 2013, supervised by Dr. David G. Hendry, associate professor at the UW iSchool.

The Fulbright program is the largest U.S. international exchange program, offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. The program was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress to "enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries."

In 2011, the Fulbright program will award approximately 8000 grants to support research and education opportunities in 155 countries, including 20 full grants for Canada. For more information about the Fulbright program, visit www.fulbrightcanada.com or www.iie.org/en/Fulbright.