Of Note

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Alberto Alesina Wins Hayek Book Prize

Faculty Associate Alberto Alesina, Nathaniel Ropes Professor of Political Economy at Harvard University, is the corecipient of the Hayek Book Prize for his book, Austerity: When It Works and When It Doesn't (Princeton University Press, 2020). The generous book prize, given annually by the Manhattan Institute, honors a book published within the past two years that best reflects Friedrich Hayek’s vision of economic and individual liberty. Hayek, a political philosopher and Nobel laureate, was a key figure in the twentieth century revival of classical liberalism.

Sadly, Alberto Alesina passed away suddenly on May 23, 2020. The Weatherhead Center offers condolences to Professor Alesina’s family, friends, and colleagues during this time. 

Naima Green-Riley Named Black American National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader

Graduate Student Associate Naima Green-Riley, PhD candidate in the Department of Government at Harvard University, was named a 2020 Black American National Security & Foreign Policy Next Generation Leader by the Diversity and National Security Network. Twenty rising thought leaders were named this year, based on excellence and leadership; current work in national security or foreign policy; and their contributions to their issues of expertise through thought leadership.

Ieva Jusionyte and Durba Mitra Win Star Family Prize

The Star Family Prize for Excellence in Advising at Harvard University was established by James A. Star ’83 to recognize and reward individuals who contribute to the College through their exemplary intellectual and personal guidance of undergraduate students. Every year, twelve advisers—in the categories of first-year, sophomore, concentration, and faculty advisers—across Harvard’s schools are awarded the prize. This year, Faculty Associates Ieva Jusionyte, assistant professor of anthropology and of social studies at Harvard University, and Durba Mitra, assistant professor of women, gender, and sexuality at Harvard University and the Carol K. Pforzheimer Assistant Professor at the Radcliffe Institute, are two of three recipients to win the prize for faculty advising. 

Melissa Dell Wins John Bates Clark Medal

Faculty Associate Melissa Dell, professor of economics at Harvard University, is the recipient of the 2020 John Bates Clark Medal. The prestigious Clark Medal is awarded every spring by the American Economic Association to an American economist under the age of forty who is judged to have made the most significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge. According to the AEA press release, “through her pioneering careful and creative data collection and empirical work, Melissa Dell has advanced our understanding of the role state and other institutions play in the daily lives of and economic outcomes of ordinary people.” 

Laura Adler Wins Rose Laub Coser Dissertation Proposal Award

Former Graduate Research Fellow in the Canada Program, Laura Adler is a PhD candidate in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University. She is the 2020 recipient of the Rose Laub Coser Award for her dissertation, “What’s a Job Candidate Worth?  Pay-Setting and Gender Inequality after the ‘Salary History Ban.’” The award is given annually by the Eastern Sociological Society to a graduate student for an outstanding doctoral dissertation proposal in the area of the family or gender and society.

Nathan Nunn Wins Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management

Faculty Associate Nathan Nunn, Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics at Harvard University, is the 2020 recipient of the Jan Söderberg Family Prize in Economics and Management for pioneering knowledge of Africa’s development. The chair of the prize committee, Fredrik Andersson, said that Nunn’s “creative use of data from the past and present made him a perfect laureate for our prize, since it is awarded to work that has renewed the research field.”

Julianna Kardish Wins Gordon Parks Foundation Essay Prize

Kenneth I. Juster Fellow Julianna Kardish, class of 2020 in the Department of Anthropology and Department of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard College, is one of the 2019–2020 recipients of the Gordon Parks Foundation Essay Prize at Harvard. The award gives three grants to Harvard undergraduate, graduate students, and alumni per academic year for essays that explore the relationship between visual art and justice as it pertains to racial equity. Kardish’s thesis is titled “A Counter-Cartography of Cape Town: Tracing the Grounded Realities of Homeless Women in Crises.”

Peter Der Manuelian's Giza Project Wins the Gold Award for Best Educational App

Faculty Associate Peter Der Manuelian, Barbara Bell Professor of Egyptology at Harvard University, won the Gold Award for best educational app at the “Reimagine Education” event in London for his project Digital Giza: Visualizing the Pyramids with a Harvard "Educational Telepresence" Case Study. The Digital Giza project, Harvard’s first experiment in ‘educational telepresence,’ allows students anywhere in the world to use a VR device to stand together with an instructor virtually, and in real time, at the famous pyramids at Giza, Egypt. 

Heidi Tworek Wins Ralph Gomory Prize

Visiting Fellow at the Center for History and Economics Heidi Tworek, assistant professor of history at the University of British Columbia, is the 2020 recipient of the Ralph Gomory Prize for her book, News from Germany: The Competition to Control World Communications, 1900–1945 (Harvard University Press, 2019). The award “recognizes historical work on the effects of business enterprises on the economic conditions of the countries in which they operate.” Tworek’s book also made the shortlist for the 2020 European Studies Book Award (by the Council for European Studies) as well as the 2020 Pinsky Givon Family Prize for Non-Fiction, in the Western Canada Jewish Book Awards.

Orlando Patterson and S.V. Subramanian Win PROSE Awards

The PROSE Awards, given out annually by the Association of American Publishers, recognize the best in professional and scholarly publishing by bringing attention to distinguished books, journals, and electronic content. Faculty Associate Orlando Patterson, John Cowles Professor of Sociology at Harvard University, is the 2020 recipient of the Category Award for Media and Cultural Studies for his book, The Confounding Island: Jamaica and the Postcolonial Predicament (Harvard University Press). Faculty Associate S.V. Subramanian, Professor of Population Health and Geography at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is the 2020 corecipient of the Category Awards for Best New Journal in Social Sciences for SSM – Population Health (Elsevier). 

Ingrid T. Monson and Tomiko Brown-Nagin Elected into American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Faculty Associates Ingrid T. Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African-American Music at Harvard University, and Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Dean at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, professor of history at Harvard University, and Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, are some of the newest members elected into the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Every year since 1780, the Academy recognizes exceptionally accomplished individuals across a wide range of professions and disciplines. Monson and Brown-Nagin join 274 other artists, scholars, scientists, and leaders in the public, nonprofit, and private sectors.

Philippe Aghion Wins Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Management

Former Faculty Associate Philippe Aghion, a professor at the College de France and at the London School of Economics, is the corecipient of the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance and Management, along with Professor Peter Howitt. The BBVA Foundation recognizes the two economists for developing an economic growth theory based on the innovation that emerges from the process of creative destruction.