CU-Boulder Economist Wins Fulbright Fellowship For Vietnam Project
May 15, 2006

University of Colorado at Boulder economics Professor Robert McNown has been
awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for a project to help train and better equip
Vietnamese economists.

McNown 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 computer-based instructional materials for
econometrics," McNown 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."

McNown joined the CU-Boulder faculty as an assistant professor in 1971. His
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
McNown back to CU-Boulder and eventually earned doctoral degrees.

McNown also has been a visiting professor at the University of Sydney, 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 Sen. 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.