Princetonians honored with Guggenheim Fellowships

Seven Princeton faculty members and two visiting artists have received 2026 Guggenheim Fellowships supporting scholars in the creative arts, social sciences, natural sciences and humanities. This year’s faculty recipients are Nathan Arrington, Matias Cattaneo, Christopher Harris, Kristina Olson, Alexander Ploss, Silas Riener and Bridgett vonHoldt.

Visiting artists Suji Kwock Kim and Kyle Abraham, as well as undergraduate and graduate alumni Alan Baker *99, Mina Cikara *10, Faith Hillis ’02, Zubin Jacob *07, Jamie Kreiner *11, Erik Linstrum ’06, Aaron Pollack *14, Scott Redford ’78, W. Anthony Sheppard *96, Sang-Heon (Dan) Shim *01, and John Wood Sweet *95 also received Guggenheim Fellowships. (The apostrophes denote undergraduate alumni, the asterisks graduate alumni.)

These Princetonians are among the 223 scholars selected to receive Guggenheims, which recognize “both prior career achievement and exceptional promise,” according to the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation announcement. This year marks the 101st class of fellows.

“Our new class of Guggenheim Fellows is representative of the world’s best thinkers, innovators, and creators in art, science and scholarship,” said Edward Hirsch, president of the foundation. “As the foundation enters its second century and looks to the future, I feel confident that this new class … will do bold and inspiring work, undaunted by the challenges ahead. We are honored to support their visionary contributions.”

Faculty recipients

Nathan Arrington, professor of art and archaeology and Hellenic studies and chair of the Department of Art and Archaeology and the Index of Medieval Art, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of fine arts research. 

Arrington specializes in ancient Greek material culture, working in art history, archaeology and classics. He is also the U.S. director of the Molyvoti, Thrace, Archaeological Project, excavating an area in northwestern Greece with ancient and modern techniques. This spring he is teaching the graduate seminar “Death in Greece: Archaeological Perspectives,” which is cross-listed between art and archaeology, classics, and Hellenic studies. Arrington was a member of Princeton’s Class of 2002, and he earned his Ph.D. at the University of California-Berkeley in 2010. He joined the University faculty in 2010.

Matias Cattaneo, professor of operations research and financial engineering, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of data science. 

Cattaneo’s research spans fields including econometrics, statistics, machine learning, artificial intelligence and applied mathematics. He develops statistical and computational methods for the social, behavioral and biomedical sciences, with particular emphasis on program evaluation and causal inference. This spring he is teaching the graduate seminar “Econometrics for Policymakers” at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. Cattaneo earned his Ph.D. at the University of California-Berkeley in 2008. He joined Princeton as a professor in 2019.

Christopher Harris, professor of visual arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of film-video. 

Harris makes films and video installations that read African American historiography through the poetics and aesthetics of experimental cinema. This spring he is teaching the undergraduate course “Filmmaking: 16mm Analog Film Production” in the Program in Visual Arts. Harris earned an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2000, and he joined the University as a professor in 2024.

Kristina Olson, professor of psychology, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of psychology.

An expert in early childhood social cognitive development, Olson’s research interests focus on gender diversity, social group attitudes, perceptions of inequality and prosocial behavior. This spring she is teaching the undergraduate course “Sex and Gender Development,” which is cross-listed between psychology and the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Olson earned her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2008 and joined Princeton as a professor in 2020.

Alexander Ploss, Princeton’s Harry C. Wiess Professor of Life Sciences and Molecular Biology, and the co-director of the Global Health Program, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of medicine and health. His fellowship was underwritten by the Eleanor Schwartz Charitable Foundation.

Ploss’ work focuses on viruses that affect humans, including yellow fever, dengue and SARS-CoV-2. This spring he is teaching the undergraduate course “Global Health Challenges: Biology, Disease, and Society,” which is cross-listed between molecular biology and global health. Ploss received a Ph.D. in immunology and microbiology from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Cornell University in 2004. He joined the Princeton faculty in 2013.

Silas Riener, lecturer in dance in the Lewis Center for the Arts, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of choreography.

This semester he is teaching the undergraduate course “Introduction to Contemporary Dance,” in which students observe, perform and choreograph dances. He was a member of Princeton’s Class of 2006 and received his MFA in dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2008. He was Princeton’s Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence in 2022, and he has been a faculty lecturer seven times since 2013.

Bridgett vonHoldt, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of biology. 

VonHoldt studies the genetics and evolution of canids, especially dogs, coyotes, and red and gray wolves. She is also the founder and director of the North American Canine Ancestry Project. This spring she is teaching the undergraduate course “Applied Molecular Ecology,” and next semester she is offering a graduate seminar, “Colloquium on the Biology of Populations.” She earned her Ph.D. at the University of California-Los Angeles in 2010, and she joined the Princeton faculty in 2013.

Artists and arts fellows

Suji Kwock Kim, a 2024-25 Hodder Fellow in the Lewis Center for the Arts, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of poetry. She is a writer, playwright and poet.

Kyle Abraham, a former lecturer in dance and a 2025-26 guest artist and choreographer, was awarded the Guggenheim in the field of choreography. He is a dancer and choreographer.

Alumni recipients

• Alan Baker, a 1999 graduate alumnus, for philosophy
• Mina Cikara, a 2010 graduate alumna, for psychology
• Faith Hillis, a member of the Class of 2002, for intellectual and cultural history
• Zubin Jacob, a 2007 graduate alumnus, for engineering
• Jamie Kreiner, a 2011 graduate alumna, for medieval and early modern studies
• Erik Linstrum, a member of the Class of 2006, for European & Latin American history
• Aaron Pollack, a 2014 graduate alumnus, for mathematics
• Scott Redford, a member of the Class of 1978, for architecture, planning and design
• W. Anthony Sheppard, a 1996 graduate alumnus, for music research
• Sang-Heon (Dan) Shim, a 2001 graduate alumnus, for astronomy and astrophysics
• John Wood Sweet, a 1995 graduate alumnus, for U.S. history