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UNCC professor wins Fulbright Scholarship
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Published: April 8, 2009
At a time when many people are looking for a greener way of life and reusable energy, Dr. Thomas Rogers will be examining that topic in Brazil.
Rogers, a Concord resident and an assistant professor at UNC Charlotte in the Africana Studies department, recently received a Fulbright grant for cultural exchange. This will give him the opportunity to live in Brazil and research how society interacts with the environment through labor.
Specifically, Rogers will look at the history of sugar cane workers in the northeast state of Pernambuco. Sugar cane is used to make ethanol, which can be used as a source of fuel.
"We are in a moment when the world is captivated by reusing energy," Rogers said. "Brazil is experiencing a boom in ethanol production."
The irony is that ethanol can be used as an alternative form of energy, but producing it from sugar cane can have a large effect on the environment.
"If you decide to grow more sugar cane, you cut down more forests," Rogers said. "I'll be asking two questions, what are the results of this sugar cane growth and ethanol production for the environment and for the people living and working there."
Rogers is interested in examining the history of this, specifically the boom of ethanol production between 1975 and 1985 in Brazil. He said that after the oil shocks in that time period, 75 percent of new cars ran on alcohol, or ethanol, by 1986.
Rogers will depart for Brazil in January 2010 and stay until July. There, he will look at documents from the government, environmental agencies and federal agencies, and of course, he will interview the sugar cane workers.
He is not too worried about living in Brazil. After all, it is not his first time there. His only worry is about how his two young daughters will adjust to Brazil since it will be their first time visiting.
Rogers has traveled to and lived in Brazil several times over the last 10 years. He first became interested in Latin America as a teenager during a service-learning trip to Mexico.
At Williams College, where he double majored in history and biology, Rogers had an advisor from Jamaica who taught him about Caribbean history. When Rogers earned his master's degree and Ph.D. at Duke University, he wrote his thesis on Jamaican history and will soon turn his dissertation into his first book.
Rogers's research through this Fulbright grant will eventually become his second book. To receive the Fulbright grant, Rogers had to write a proposal, collect recommendation letters and be evaluated by the department of education and Brazilian scholars.
Thirty recipients were chosen to travel to Brazil for various reasons. Rogers had received a Fulbright grant in the past as a graduate student, but he was a bit worried this time about the Brazilian evaluators.
"What I've found so far is that sugar cane does degrade the environment," Rogers said. "I am a bit worried my conclusions might not be favorable."
Regardless of the results, Rogers hopes his research will draw lessons for the current policy on green energy and smart ways of purchasing ethanol and other forms of alternative energy. His department chair at UNCC, Akin Ogundiran, is already predicting his research will be an effective guide about this topic.
"People talk about alternative fuel, but we really do not have any historical study on the impact of the energy crisis on the global economy," Ogundiran said. "His work has important potential for understanding the energy crisis."
• Contact reporter Jessica Groover: 704-789-9152
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