As Franklin & Marshall students catch a breath during summer break, members of the faculty and professional staff continue to earn accolades for their research and create an enriching academic environment all year long. 

This academic year, faculty members across various disciplines received numerous grant and fellowship opportunities, with several award announcements still pending. Faculty and staff have been recognized both nationally and globally for their contributions to a range of academic fields. This high level of research activity supported by a range of governmental and private funders reflects the impact of F&M’s investment in research infrastructure, including computing resources, libraries, administrative support, and extensive investment in undergraduate research collaboration.

The list below features grant and fellowship activity in recent months. For a comprehensive list of faculty and staff achievements, visit the Celebrating Scholarship archive. 

Daniel Ardia, associate dean of the faculty and Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology, was awarded a three-year (2025-2028) National Science Foundation Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC) grant, managed by the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS), for the project, “Developing in a dynamic environment: from integrative mechanisms to population-level consequences.” Related story: Winging It: F&M Supercomputer Powers Biologist’s Local Conservation Efforts

The F&M Vivarium, led by Director of Operations Lillian Basom ’08, received a $10,000 grant from the Animal Welfare Institute for the purchase and installation of new rodent housing. Related story: Work on the Wild Side with Lillian Basom '08, F&M Vivarium Director 

Fronefield Crawford, Charles A. Dana Professor of Physics and Astronomy and director of Grundy Observatory, received a four-year (2025-2029) $39,008 grant from NASA as part of the The Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium (PSGC). PSGC funds fellowships and scholarships for students pursuing careers in science, mathematics, engineering and technology (STEM) as well as curriculum enhancement and faculty development. Member colleges and universities also administer pre-college and public service education projects in their states. Crawford continues to receive funding for participation in the international NANOGrav Collaboration. Related story: Mapping the Cosmos with F&M’s Supercomputer

Bridget Guarasci, associate professor of anthropology, received a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Wenner-Gren Foundation to to support research and writing of her ethnographic manuscript, “Warzone Ecologies: Iraq’s Marshes on the Battlefields of War” (to be published Nov. 2026). Guarasci also received funds from the Rivers Institute of Contemporary Art to support the project. Combined awards totaled $21,000.

Eric Hirsch, associate professor of environmental studies, continues to receive funding from a $500,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to lead a three-year (2024-27) research initiative titled, “The Agricultural Futures Archive: Rural and Urban Growers in the Shadow of the Solar Panel.” Related story: F&M Professor Awarded $500,000 Mellon Grant to Amplify Local Grower Voices Amid Climate Change

Zeshan Ismat, professor of geosciences and program chair of international studies, was selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Pakistan for 2025-26 to explore how climate change, groundwater depletion, and geological shifts are shaping water security in Pakistan.

Stephanie McNulty, The Honorable & Mrs. John C. Kunkel Professor of Government, was awarded a Fulbright Global Scholar Award to collect data for a planned book on the origins of participatory democracy. The award will support travel to multiple countries over a multi-year period. Related story: Professor to Study How Cities Are Reshaping Democracy

John Modern, Arthur & Katherine Shadek Professor of Religious Studies and department chair of religious studies, received a $157,500 grant from the John Templeton Foundation as principal investigator for "The Religion of AI Observed: A Season of Production and Planning for the Institute of the Mechanical Surround." Related video: 2024 Bradley R. Dewey Award: Professor John Modern

Jacob Myers, visiting assistant professor of English, received a 2025 National Science Foundation grant awarded to promising scholars at the NSF History of Science Society's annual conference. Myers presented a paper, "Hurting the Carrion-Crow: Early Caribbean Vulture Knowledge & Aphoristic Vernacular Science." Additionally, Myers received a postdoctoral research fellowship from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, enabling travel to Berlin for six months beginning in June 2026. 

Robert Walter, The Dr. Earl D. Stage & Mary E. Stage Professor of Geosciences, and F&M’s Chesapeake Watershed Initiative received a $30,000 grant from the Steinman Foundation to support six paid student researchers over the summer as they continue work on local stream restoration projects. Walter has also received additional awards from the Sierra Club and Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania to support student projects. Related story: A Landmark Investment in Geosciences: Honoring Professor Robert C. Walter

Christina Weaver, Carmie L. and Beatrice J. Creitz Professor of Mathematics and department chair of mathematics, received a five-year (2025-2030) grant award from the National Institute on Aging as co-investigator of “Multiscale modeling and empirical studies of normal and pathological brain aging.”

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