Two Brazilian alumni were awarded the International Alumni Award from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at a ceremony on campus on March 7: Mauricio Bittencourt, PhD in agricultural economics, 2004, who has a 24-year career at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR); and Luiz Lucchesi, PhD in agronomy, 1997, who has a long-standing commitment to sustainable agriculture in Brazil.

Two Brazilian alumni were awarded the International Alumni Award from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at a ceremony on campus on March 7.

Mauricio Bittencourt, PhD in agricultural economics, 2004, has a 24-year career at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), where he has held the titles of professor for the Department of Economics, director of the Graduate Studies Program in Economic Development, vice-chair for the Department of Economics and others. Bittencourt’s strong connection to the Department of Agricultural, Environmental, and Development Economics (AEDE) has led to speaking engagements hosted by the department, obtaining funding to send several UFPR students to AEDE and bringing AEDE Professor Stanley Thompson to UFPR as a visiting professor. 

"When I attended the ceremony on campus, I felt I was returning to my second home!” Said Bittencourt. “It was an emotional and unforgettable experience."

Luiz Lucchesi, PhD in agronomy, 1997, has a long-standing commitment to sustainable agriculture in Brazil, focusing on the effective recycling of rural, urban and industrial wastes as sources of organic matter and nutrients in production systems. Lucchesi led the development a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and Ohio State and has worked closely with the Ohio International Intern Program to recruit Brazilians as interns with agribusinesses in the United States. In 2014, Lucchesi played a vital role in the establishment of the Greater Columbus Sister Cities International relationship between Columbus, Ohio, and Curitiba, Paraná, to help promote the continuation of cross-cultural exchange activities between the two cities.

Both of them took the opportunity to visit faculty and departments at Ohio State during their stay.