The Institute of Philippine Culture (IPC) congratulates its research associate, Ms Leslie Advincula-Lopez, for her acceptance into the Fulbright US-ASEAN Visiting Scholar Initiative Program for 2015-2016! Ms Advincula-Lopez will be conducting research from January to April 2016 at the University of Maryland to complete her doctoral studies in Sociology.

The Fulbright US – ASEAN scholarship grant is given to select university faculty, government officials, and other professional staff with exemplary academic and professional accomplishments in ASEAN member countries. The nominated scholars travel to the United States and stay in the country for three to four months to conduct research relevant to their study and to the US-ASEAN relationship.

Ms Advincula-Lopez—or “Leslie,” as she is called—is currently part of the research team for IPC Special Project 19 on “Armed Conflict, Natural Disasters, Urban Development, and Population Displacements in the Philippines,” co-financed by the IPC and the Center for Coordination Research – International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU). This study is in keeping with her strong interest in, and prodigious research on, armed conflict and conflict resolution.

Leslie is also one of few researchers in the Ateneo de Manila University who have chosen to specialize in studies on the role of the military in Philippine society. For her Fulbright Research Fellowship, she will examine the series of changes in the global security environment that forced the Philippines and the United States to calibrate continuously the form of their defense cooperation. Using the framework of historical institutionalism, her research will look into the gains and challenges of this continuously evolving character of military cooperation between the Philippines and the United States.

Congratulations, Leslie, and we wish you good luck with your studies!