The University Record, April 1, 2002

Society of Fellows names new members

By Martin May

The Michigan Society of Fellows has selected four new fellows to serve three-year appointments as postdoctoral scholars and assistant professors, beginning this fall. The Fellows were chosen for the importance and quality of their scholarship and for their interest in interdisciplinary intellectual work. During their tenure at the U-M they will teach selected courses in their affiliated departments and continue their scholarly research.

The new fellows, their affiliated departments and research interests are

  • Charles Davis, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Morphological Stasis in Malpighiaceae: Discerning Between Hypotheses of Constraint and Selective Maintenance. Davis comes from Harvard University.

  • Maya Jasanoff, Department of History, Cultural History of British and French Empires, 18th–19th centuries. Jasanoff comes from Yale University.

  • Megan Williams, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Religious Identity and Social Change in the Fourth Century C.E. Williams comes from Princeton University.

  • Jonathan Zwicker, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, Commodities of the Imagination: The Novel and the International Book Trade in East Asia, 1750–1900. Zwicker comes from Columbia University.

    Fellows appointed in previous years who will continue their affiliation with the Society of Fellows are Giorgio Bertellini, Film and Video Studies; Sharad Chari, departments of anthropology and history; Vaughn Cooper, Department of Biology; Simon Dickie, English; Alka Patel, History of Art; Monica Prasad, Department of Sociology; Jeremy Straughn, departments of German and sociology; and Rachel Sturman, Department of History.

    The Michigan Society of Fellows was founded in 1970 with grants from the Ford Foundation and Horace H. and Mary Rackham funds. The Society provides financial and intellectual support to individuals selected for professional promise and interdisciplinary interests.

    Competition for the fellowships is open to eligible candidates in the physical and life sciences, engineering, social sciences and education, the humanities and the arts.