The Romnes Fellowships recognize faculty with exceptional research contributions within their first six years from promotion to a tenured position. The award is named in recognition of the late WARF trustees president H.I. Romnes and comes with $60,000 that may be spent over five years.
Mercedes Alcalá Galán, professor of Spanish literature and culture and president of the Cervantes Society of America. Her most recent book explores the sexual and reproductive bodies of women in early modern Spain, while her research has also been oriented toward visual culture in Spain during that time period.
Ian G. Baird, professor of geography and director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Most of his research, focused on fisheries and fish ecology, is centered in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia.
Ramzi Fawaz, professor of English and affiliated faculty in the Department of Gender, Women’s and Sexuality Studies. He explores the relationship between popular culture and social movements in the modern U.S. and is interested in the ways that movements for women’s and gay liberation, Black power, AIDS activism, and the third world left have used literature, film and visual media as vehicles for giving voice to commonly marginalized groups.
Mikhail Kats, professor of electrical and computer engineering. His research include optics and photonics, device physics, nanoscale science and quantum technologies, especially geared toward creating next-generation optical components to emit, modulate and detect light across the visible and infrared spectra.
Lori Kido Lopez, professor of communication arts and director of the Asian American Studies Program. Her research examines the way minority groups use media in the fight for social justice, and especially the ways grassroots/activist media, digital media and consumer culture play a role in transforming identities and communities.
Kate McCulloh, professor of botany. As a plant physiological ecologist, her research focuses on how trees tolerate stresses. Her projects have explored what factors cause the world’s tallest trees to stop growing and why some species die in severe droughts more than others.
Andrew Mehle, associate professor in medical microbiology and immunology. His lab studies the battle between cells and influenza virus, and in particular, how the virus exploits cellular processes, evades cellular defenses, and repurposes cellular machinery.
Darcy Padilla, professor of art. As a documentary photographer, she focuses on narrative and works on long-term projects about struggle and its trans-generational effects.
Sushmita Roy, associate professor of biostatistics and medical informatics and faculty at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Her research focuses on computational methods to advance our understanding of the molecular basis of processes such as development, disease and evolution.
Nathan Sherer, professor of oncology and molecular virology and director of the UW–Madison Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Graduate Program. He studies the cell biology underpinning the replication of HIV and other viruses.
Catalina Toma, professor of communication arts and co-chair of UW–Madison’s Teaching Academy. She examines the implications of new communication technologies on the interpersonal relationships of users and on their psychological wellbeing.
Haley Vlach, professor of educational psychology and director of the Learning, Cognition & Development Lab. Her research examines children’s cognitive development, including their ability to remember information, acquire language and construct concepts.
Victor Zavala, professor of chemical and biological engineering. His research focuses on computational mathematics and their application to energy, agriculture and sustainability. He is also working to foster more diverse, inclusive and equitable academic environments within the College of Engineering.