Optical imaging, brain plasticity, planet formation and human trafficking are just a few areas of research to be explored by the winners of this year’s Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program, the most prestigious fellowship program at The University of Texas at Austin.
The recipients are two visiting faculty fellows and 15 graduate fellows who will work with UT Austin colleagues to delve into topics covering a broad spectrum of research and exploration.
“I’m so proud of this program and these incredible scholars. Through their pursuits in education and research that benefit society, the Harrington Fellows truly embody our mission at The University of Texas at Austin,” said President Bill Powers, chairman of the Harrington Fellows Program.
Visiting from Princeton University, Professor Brian Herrera will be on campus to pursue his work on the history of performance art in the United States. Professor Patrick Jagoda from the University of Chicago will continue his research about new media, film, and game design.
The 2014 group includes 15 graduate fellows with specialties such as brain circuitry, astronomy, cognitive science and many others. The graduate fellows and their areas of expertise are:
- Sarah Barfield, UT Austin Ecology of reef-building corals
- Cynthia Blanco, University of North Carolina Role of accents in linguistics
- Brian Bondy, Georgia State Brain plasticity and the ability to process information
- Emily Bragg, Georgia Institute of Technology Increasing performance in mobile devices
- Daniel Briley, Pepperdine Cognitive development in children
- Jacqueline DiBiasie, Washington and Lee Viewing urban space through graffiti
- Laurie Heffron, Georgetown Human trafficking and violence against women
- Natalie Henninger, Vanderbilt Dynamics of groups and organizations
- Raquel Martinez, California Institute of Technology Star and planet formation
- Joshua Moon, Alabama Polymer construction for environmental and energy uses
- Natalie Poulos, UT Austin Dietary patterns and outcomes in youth
- Nandini Ramani, Visvesvaraya Technological Economic impact of digital marketing
- Lisa Richards, Duke Optical imaging to measure blood flow during surgery
- Ethan Shlachter, Missouri Growth of India during the late-colonial period
- Mary Stitt, Carleton College Privatization of New Orleans public schools
The Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program is one of the best visiting scholar and graduate fellow programs in the nation. The fellowships support young faculty members and graduate students who have extraordinary academic records and a broad range of distinctive achievements. Sybil Harrington, the granddaughter of one of the first families to settle Amarillo, established the program as a tribute to her husband.
