Eight Columbia University professors received Guggenheim Fellowships this on Friday, April 13, more than any other institution this year. Literature Humanities chair Christia Mercer and Contemporary Civilization chair Matthew Jones were among the professors to win the prestigious fellowships. Also hailing from Columbia are School of the Arts professors Timothy Donnelly and Benjamin Taylor, Mailman School of Public Health professor Jennifer Hirsch, music professors Alex Mincek and Kate Soper, and Journalism School professor Stephen Hall.

During the Guggenheim Fellowship, Professor Mercer will work on a book project, Platonisms in Early Modern Thought.  She will also continue to oversee a new book series, Oxford Philosophical Concepts. The main goal of the series is to offer accounts of key concepts in the history of philosophy (for example, matter, soul, evil, space, health, consciousness, sympathy, and self-knowledge). Professor Jones will use his fellowship to study the history of data mining, a technique for summarizing large sets of data via computer software. Both professors will be replaced by interim chairs next year.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation awarded 181 fellowships this year to scholars, artists, and scientists in the United States and Canada. Guggenheim Fellows are appointed based on distinguished achievement and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. The purpose of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is to help provide fellows with 6–12 months to work with as much creative freedom as possible. For more information, click here for the article in the Spectator.