Two Columbians and a Barnard professor have received Guggenheim Fellowships this year to pursue an independent project of their choice. They are among 223 American and Canadian scientists, scholars in the social sciences and humanities, and writers and artists of all kinds selected from nearly 5,000 applicants for a 2026 fellowship.
Since its establishment in 1925, the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation has given nearly $450 million in fellowships to more than 19,000 individuals; over 125 of its alumni are Nobel laureates, members of all the national academies, and winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Fields Medal, Turing Award, Bancroft Prize, and National Book Award, among other top honors.
Here’s what the winners plan to accomplish in the next year:
Michael Kaplan, Lamont Research Professor, Geochemistry, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, aims to study how glaciers in the Southern Hemisphere behaved prior to the 20th century, and to understand better the climate drivers that explain their natural variability. He will use observations from the recent geological past, focusing on the last few thousand years. How glaciers behaved previously, before instrumental records existed, is especially important to know, against the backdrop of worldwide glacier retreat since the 20th century.
Ingrid Laubrock, an Associate in Music Performance, Department of Music, will create a new, 40-minute composition for large ensemble, improvising soloists and electronics, inspired by essays and letters of her late father.
John Miller, Art History Professor, Barnard, plans to build upon his ongoing series of trompe l’oeil paintings and wall reliefs, which he has been developing since 2020. These works explore the tension between photography and painting, illusion and materiality, and the private imagination and public space.
