I am a plant physiologist and my area of specialty is photosynthesis. In the late l980’s and early 1990’s an emerging technology of interest in biology was remote sensing of the capacity of plants for photosynthesis (by analysis of fluorescence from the chlorophyll pigments in leaves which absorb solar energy). Neil Baker of the University of Essex was a pioneer in this area, and so I was pleased and proud when the Fulbright Commission funded my application to study with him during my sabbatical year. My family and I lived in Colchester, site of an early Roman fort, from August 1992 to July 1993.
The year was rewarding for all of us. Besides the research opportunities, as a Fulbright scholar I received a number of invitations from U.K universities to give seminars. There was also ample time to catch up on my writing, and on the weekends, to travel. Our daughter, then 14, experienced a very different sort of school system than Pullman’s. A highlight of the year was a couple of days in London, sponsored by the Fulbright Commission. All the scholars and their families were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of Parliament, and a reception hosted by the U.K. Minister of Education.
