Lori Pearson, Professor of Religion, has been awarded a prestigious New Directions Fellowship from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for her project “Gender, Religion, and Social Theory: Marianne Weber and the Origins of Religious Studies.” This substantial fellowship will enable her to thoroughly address legal, cultural, and societal debates about women’s rights that shaped theories of religion in Germany around 1900; and demonstrate the influence of 19th century intellectual Marianne Weber, wife of pioneering sociologist Max Weber. The funding primarily supports summer and sabbatical leave time and graduate coursework. For more see the Carleton News article.

Marty Baylor, Assistant Professor of Physics, has been granted a prestigious Single-Investigator Cottrell College Science Award from the Research Corporation for Scientific Advancement for her project “Optimization of Index Contrast in Diffusive Photopolymers Able to Create Waveguides and Fluid Channels in Optofluidic Devices.” The award will move Prof. Baylor closer to her goal of creating 3-D, portable devices for optical sensor applications. The grant will also support undergraduate researchers to assist in building apparatus, acquiring data, analyzing results, and devising future experiments.