West LA Times

Five faculty members from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been honored with 2025 Guggenheim Fellowships. These awards were announced by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation and recognize distinguished individuals from the United States and Canada. A total of 198 scholars, scientists, and creative professionals were selected from a competitive pool of over 3,500 applicants.

The Guggenheim Fellowships, marking their 100th year, are awarded in 53 disciplines and celebrate exceptional achievement in various fields including the creative arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. UCLA's newest fellows—Mona Jarrahi, Suk-Young Kim, Jingyi Jessica Li, Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni, and Park Williams—are recognized for their groundbreaking work across diverse areas such as Earth science, data science, climate studies, engineering, and theater arts. The recipients are provided with a monetary stipend to pursue their research endeavors freely.

Edward Hirsch, president of the Guggenheim Foundation, stated, "At a time when intellectual life is under attack, the Guggenheim Fellowship celebrates a century of support for the lives and work of visionary scientists, scholars, writers and artists. We believe that these creative thinkers can take on the challenges we all face today and guide our society towards a better and more hopeful future."

The UCLA faculty members recognized include:

Mona Jarrahi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering, holds the Northrop Grumman Chair in Electrical Engineering. She directs the Terahertz Electronics Laboratory at UCLA and researches ultrafast electronic and optoelectronic devices, focusing on terahertz sensing, imaging, and communication systems.

Suk-Young Kim leads the theater and performance studies department at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television. Her interdisciplinary research spans East Asian performance, visual culture, Russian and Slavic literature, and folklore. Kim is noted for her work on body politics, transmedia, and the historical foundations of popular culture, and is a recognized commentator on Korean cultural media.

Jingyi Jessica Li, a professor of biostatistics at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, specializes in developing statistical and computational tools for biological and biomedical questions. Her research focuses on improving the reliability of large RNA sequencing data analysis and contributing to advancements in genetics and disease treatment.

Carolina Lithgow-Bertelloni chairs the Earth, planetary, and space sciences department at the UCLA College. She holds the Louis B. and Martha B. Slichter Chair in Geosciences. Her research explores the connections between Earth's surface and subsurface forces. Lithgow-Bertelloni is known for her work on the dynamics of Earth's mantle and its influence on the planet's evolution.

Park Williams, a professor of geography with a joint appointment in atmospheric and oceanic sciences, studies the impact of climate on hydrological and ecological systems. His research is aimed at understanding climate change effects, including drought, floods, and wildfires. Williams runs the HyFives research lab and was awarded a MacArthur ‘genius’ grant in 2023.