Two Simpson Center collaborators have been awarded prestigious Guggenheim Foundation fellowships, which will allow them to pursue creative and scholarly projects over the coming year.
Two Simpson Center collaborators have been awarded prestigious Guggenheim Foundation fellowships, which will allow them to pursue creative and scholarly projects over the coming year.
Katharyne Mitchell (Geography) has received a fellowship for her research on sanctuary practices for asylum seekers and those at risk of deportation in Europe. She has also received a Brocher Foundation fellowship for her work on the concept of biological citizenship, allowing her to study in Switzerland in fall 2016.
Katharyne, who serves on the Simpson Center Executive Board, held the Simpson Professorship in the Public Humanities (2004-2007), a program modeled as an alternative to sabbatical leave, providing deep support for local, community-relevant research. Her community engagement project, Reclaiming Childhood, undertook a collaborative, interdisciplinary examination of the changing nature of contemporary childhood.
Rajesh Rao (Computer Science & Engineering) has received a Guggenheim fellowship for his work in neuroscience. The award will support his project The Computational Brain: Understanding and Interfacing with Neuronal Networks. Rajesh received a Simpson Center grant in 2008 for Analysis of the 4500-year-old Indus Script using Machine Learning and Data Mining, a digital humanities grant that predates our Digital Humanities Summer Fellowship program.
UW Drawing Professor Helen O’Toole (Art) also received a Guggenheim fellowship for fine arts.
Congratulations, Katharyne, Rajesh, and Helen!