2018–19 Fellows
Elizabeth "Jordie" Davies is a PhD student in Political Science, studying American politics with research interests in black politics, social movements, and media. Her research considers how the new and partisan American media environment frames social movement activity, amplifying or dampening activist claims. She is interested in journalistic norms in reporting political activity, as well as political learning through media consumption. Davies also does public opinion research on youth attitudes about social movements and progressive racial attitudes. She is a researcher on the GenForward Survey of Millennials. Davies holds an MA in Social Science from the University of Chicago and a BA in Political Science from Emory University.
Arianna Gass is an intermedia artist and scholar whose interests lie at the intersection of digital and embodied play. Arianna explores embodiment from a technical perspective, examining the interface of on-screen and off-screen bodily performance in video games, as well as from a creative perspective, through the production of interactive multimedia performances that reframe audiences as performers. Arianna received her BA from Vassar College and is a PhD student in the joint English and Theater and Performance Studies program at the University of Chicago. http://www.ariannagass.com
Cameron Hu is a doctoral candidate in anthropology, with interests in the social theory of global capitalism, science and technology, and energy and environment, and an empirical focus on the United States and Indonesia. His dissertation research examined industrial projects to realize a new form of "unconventional" hydrocarbon energy in the North American subsoil, and to extend the new extractive regime across the planet. The resulting manuscript builds on this empirical work to re-conceptualize the "geopolitical" in view of contemporary economic and environmental volatility. He has also published widely on contemporary art and architecture.
Tien-Tien Jong is a PhD student in the Department of Cinema & Media Studies with a certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her research interests include the history of musical and dancing automatons; representations of artificial intelligence in fiction and film; the mapping of biological categories onto technology, animation, and children's films. She holds a BA in Film & Media Studies from Dartmouth College, where she wrote a thesis titled, "This Waking Dream We Call Human Life: Ballet, Opera and the Unconscious in Musical Film." At the University of Chicago, she serves as one of the coordinators for the Race & Pedagogy Working Group. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the piano. Her favorite places to see movies in Chicago are the Music Box Theatre and Doc Films.
Will Myers writes music that engages with memory, subtle theatricality, and the humanity, agency, and physicality of the performer(s). His work has been performed by ensembles including Quatuor Bozzini, Spektral Quartet, and the [Switch~ Ensemble]. He is pursuing a PhD at the University of Chicago and holds degrees from New England Conservatory and Tufts University in composition, music theory, and cognitive science. He has studied with Augusta Read Thomas, Sam Pluta, Anthony Cheung, Marta Ptaszyńska, Kati Agócs, John Heiss, and John McDonald.
Ruben Waldman is working toward his PhD at the Institute of Molecular Engineering. Ruben focuses on developing materials and technologies for water security. He utilizes the pattern-forming properties of self-assembly materials such as block copolymers to fabricate highly regular nano-porous membrane filters which can exclude or chemically destroy dangerous water contaminants. Outside of the laboratory, Ruben pursues hobbies ranging from gardening, pottery, and scientific outreach to the public. Ruben is interested in the intersection of scientific research and public policy, especially in how scientists engage with politics. He received his BSE in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.
Rachel Wallace is a PhD student in the Institute for Molecular Engineering, working in Professor Jeffery Hubbell’s laboratory. Her research focuses on engineering immune-modulating proteins in order to induce immune tolerance against protein therapeutics and autoimmunity. In addition to her scientific research, she is also interested in the ethical questions that must be considered as the field of bioengineering progresses, as well as the perception of science by the mainstream audience and the best methods for its communication. She received her BSE in Chemical Engineering and minors in Biochemistry and German Language and Literature from the University of Michigan.
Terence Wong works across painting, sculpture, sound, and more. His work challenges the notion of the audience as disembodied spectators. He studies how sound and environment create one another. In his work sound and color act as agents that leak and bounce from objects into space and confronts the participants. He explores the potential for objects and images to manipulate and influence beholders, and how one might be able to resist. Terence is earning a Masters of Fine Arts at the University of Chicago.