Each year the University of Houston Law Center hosts visiting foreign scholars to help them continue their legal research in Houston. Since 2008, the school has welcomed more than 56 scholars from 19 countries – with interest and applications increasing each year.
Most visiting scholars are funded by their university, home government, or through organizations such as Fulbright International. When possible, scholars should plan to begin their visit in August or January. Visitors may apply at any time, but should allow a minimum of two months for the University of Houston to process paperwork and issue visa documents.
Here’s how to apply:
Visiting Scholars Application Information
Prospective Visiting Scholars Application
The school provides shared office space, and access to the law library and Internet. Visiting scholars may, with approval, audit a class when the time of their visit coincides with the beginning of a semester. The Law Center may be unable to accommodate all requests.
Emmanuel Lumiere Guematcha Ngandeu (January 15, 2025 - April 1, 2025)
Dr. Emmanuel Guematcha is a senior lecturer at the University of French Guiana since 2015 and teaches courses in public international law, human rights, social protection law, and indigenous peoples law. He also teaches transitional justice at the University of Paris-Nanterre. After earning a degree in political science at the University of Yaoundé, he went on to attain his criminology and first law degrees from the University of Paris 8, and a Master’s degree in Human Rights from the University of Paris 10. He also holds a Ph.D. degree in International Law from the University of Paris Ouest.
Dr. Emmanuel Guematcha’s research will focus on mining and human rights, and the case of indigenous peoples in France and in the US. He has published two books and was the co-editor of the French Journal Annuaire de justice transitionnelle (Transitional Justice Yearbook) in addition to publishing many journal articles and book chapters. He took part in the Third Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Conference organized by the City College University of New York in April 2024, and presented a paper on International Human Rights Law and Gold-mining.
Dr. Volker Heins (February 24, 2025 – February 28, 2025)
Dr. Volker Heins is a political scientist and migration scholar, who taught as a professor at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, until 2022. He is also a fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities (KWI) Essen. His most recent publication, entitled, “Internalization of Borders: The Concept and Its Applications”, was published online in 2024 in the journal, Society. You can read the article here.
Dr. Heins is currently a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois-Chicago pursuing his interest in the global sanctuary city movement by focusing on the sanctuary policies and practices in Chicago. He will be at the UHLC at the invitation of Professor Daniel Morales to research sanctuary movements in Houston and their effects on the lives of undocumented migrants.
Dr. Leihong Dong (August 1, 2023 – July 31, 2024)
Dr. Leihong Dong is an associate professor of law from Shandong Architecture University, in China. She is also an attorney and an arbitrator in her country. Dr. Leihong Dong teaches Public International Law and Introduction to American Legal System to both graduate students and undergraduates. Her research field covers International Law, Charity Law, and Water Law. She has published four books and 16 essays and completed over 10 scientific research projects for Shandong Provincial Government and Jinan Municipal Government. She took part in the legislation of China Charity Law of 2016 and provided expert advice during this legislative process.
Dr. Leihong Dong’s visiting research in the University of Houston Law Center focuses on American Water Law. She is hoping that her research on American Water Law and practice in the US can provide experience for the improvement of the Chinese Water Legal System.
Judge Ahmed Sameh Fahmi (March 20, 2023 - July 5, 2023)
Judge Fahmi is a member of the judiciary for the Egyptian Council of State, a national-level court for original trials and appellate matters. He hears and adjudicates cases related to administrative law, as well as disputes between individuals and government entities. After earning his first degree in law from Zagazig University in Zagazig, Egypt, he went on to attain a master’s degree in public international law from Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt. He is currently completing his second master’s degree in international and comparative law at the American University in Cairo.
Judge Fahmi’s research and activities are sponsored by the Government of Egypt and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and his research will focus on comparative constitutional and procedural law.
Mr. Rodrigo Rodi (April 3, 2023 – August 31, 2023)
Mr. Rodi graduated in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo in Brazil and has recently practiced and conducted research in regulatory law in the national energy sector. He is pursuing a master’s degree in Energy Studies at the Institute of Energy and Environment of the University of São Paulo (IEE-USP), where he participates in the Research Group on Energy Governance. As a former fellow of the International Center for Renewable Energies – CIBiogás in ANEEL’s (Brazil’s electricity regulator) Research and Development project, he focused on distributed generation systems. He is a legal counsel/researcher for public and regulatory law in the energy sector and is interested in the impact of market liberalization of electricity on the public distribution service and the regulatory adjustments necessary to implement such policies in Brazil.
Mr. Rodi is interested in comparing his country’s market liberalization process with the experiences of regions that have successfully implemented policies such as Texas and will focus his activities related to the Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center (EENR).
Professor Pablo Manterola (January 17 to February 3, 2023)
Professor Manterola is a faculty member at the Universidad de los Andes, and holds a Licensure in Law from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and a Ph.D in Law from Universidad de los Andes, where he is also co-director of the Business Law LL.M. Program. His main area of teaching and research is corporate law, and he is currently conducting research in shareholder disputes in U.S. law. His activities as a Visiting Scholar with UHLC are sponsored by the Chilean National Agency for Research and Development (ANID).
Aubin Nzaou is Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow in Law and Energy Policy, Fellow at the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources (EENR) Center, and Associate Fellow at the Center of U.S. and Mexican Law at University of Houston Law Center (U.S.). In his current position, he carries out research on Energy Transition Law and Policy. He is also Scholar at the Center for European Studies (CEE), and at the Research Group for Comparative, European and International Law (EDIEC) at Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 (France).
Prior to joining the University of Houston Law Center, Dr. Nzaou was Assistant Professor at the School of Law and Fellow at the Center for International Law at Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. He also was Assistant Professor at the School of Law, Economics and Management at University of Nîmes (France), Fellow of the CHROME Research Group (Detection, Evaluation, Management of CHRONIC AND EMERGING Risks) as well as Faculty Member of the Department of Law and Economics. He was formerly an Invited Lecturer at Senghor University, Alexandria (Egypt), and an Associate Lecturer at the School of Law at University Lumière of Lyon 2, Lyon (France), as well a Visiting Scholar at the Research Center for Environmental and Urban Planning Law (SERES), and fellow at the Interdisciplinary Research Institute for Legal Science of the Catholic University of Leuven (Belgium).
Aubin Nzaou holds a Ph.D. in Public International Law from Jean-Moulin University Lyon 3, whose dissertation examined the challenging interaction, within a pattern of complexity, between Oil and Gas Production and Environmental Protection. Dr. Nzaou has also completed a Postgraduate Program in Sustainability Leadership at the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership at University of Cambridge and a LLM at University of Limoges.
Dr. Nzaou is currently a member of the World Commission on Environmental Law (WCEL), a fellow of the Platform on International Energy Governance, established within the framework of University of Cambridge, University of Oxford and University College of London. He is also a member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators (AIPN), American Society of International Law (ASIL), European Society of International Law (ESIL), and French Society for International Law (SFDI).
Professor Vasilka Sancin (August 31, 2022 – September 7th, 2022)
Professor Sancin is a Full Professor of International Law, Head of Department of International Law and Director of the Institute for International Law and International Relations at University of Ljubjana. She will be visiting the University of Houston Law Center August 31, 2022 – September 7th, 2022. She will observe several classes throughout the week as part of a project “Innovative Learning and Teaching in Higher Education” co-financed by the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union under the European Union social fund. It is intended to provide teachers at Slovene universities with insight into higher education didactics and innovative methods of learning and teaching at foreign universities.
Professor Sancin would like to acquire new knowledge on the topics of courses taught by the faculty of the University of Houston/Law Center, in particular on: processes involved in “alternative” dispute resolution, including negotiation, mediation, and arbitration; the effective use of electronic and print legal research tools for both legal and nonlegal information of interest to lawyers; practical skills and tools needed to start handling environmental projects; the constitutional and statutory doctrines regulating the conduct of America’s foreign relations; international law and use of force. She would like to obtain insight into teaching methods and resources used, preparations and coaching for mediation and negotiation competition teams, which will enable her to develop additional skills and competences necessary to potentially introduce some of these activities at the home institution.
Vasilka Sancin, PhD, is a Full Professor of International Law, Head of Department of International Law and Director of the Institute for International Law and International Relations at University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Law (Slovenia) is also a member and Vice-Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee and an arbitrator and a Bureau member of the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration within OSCE; she founded and chairs a series of biannual inter-disciplinary scientific conferences on Responsibility to Protect (www.R2Pconference.com), Contemporary Challenges of International Environmental Law conferences (www.environmnetlaw.conference), All-European International Humanitarian and Refugee Law Moot Court Competition (http://www.pf.uni-lj.si/en/international-cooperation/moot-court-competitions/all-european-international-humanitarian-and-refugee-law-moot-court-competition/) and Model United Nations conferences – MUNLawS (www.munlaws.com); she is also a President of the Slovene Branch of International Law Association (ILA) and a member of number of other professional associations in the field of international law and international relations; email: vasilka.sancin@pf.uni-lj.si https://www.pf.uni-lj.si/en/faculty/teachers-and-researchers/vasilka-sancin-phd-assistant-professor/.
