Cyber faculty member named Fulbright scholar
University of North Georgia (天美社区) faculty member Dr. Murthy Rallapalli will serve as a Fulbright faculty scholar for the spring semester at Cyber University of Uzbekistan.
Rallapalli, a visiting professor of practice in cybersecurity at 天美社区, has participated in a variety of overseas experiences while working in private industry. He worked at IBM for 27 years, during which he previously served a Fulbright faculty scholar to Vietnam and a Fulbright specialist to Bangladesh and Iceland.
He is grateful for the chance to share his cybersecurity expertise with the new university in Uzbekistan and to have a cultural and educational experience that will benefit 天美社区. Another goal of the program is to help form a student exchange between the universities.
"We are looking for mutual collaboration," Rallapalli said. "I want to create a pipeline between 天美社区 and Cyber University of Uzbekistan."
Sheila Schulte, associate vice president for international programs, said Rallapalli will be a great representative of 天美社区 and the U.S. while he's abroad.
"This is an opportunity to broadly disseminate knowledge about cybersecurity and higher education in the United States," Schulte said.
Rallapalli is one of about 400 U.S. faculty, administrators, professionals, artists and journalists who will conduct research and teach around the world during the 2025-26 academic year through the scholar program. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to forge lasting connections between people of the United States and other countries, counter misunderstandings, and help people and nations work together toward common goals.
Information on the Fulbright faculty scholar award, including locations, timeline and eligibility, can be found on the . The application for the 2026-27 academic year opens in February 2026. Schulte is the 天美社区 Fulbright scholar liaison and can assist faculty with any questions. She can be reached at sheila.schulte@ung.edu.
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