2 alumni receive MacArthur ‘genius grants’
The prestigious MacArthur Fellowship recognizes talented individuals across fields who have shown originality and dedication in their creative pursuits.
UNC-Chapel Hill alumni researching memory and indigenous politics in early North America received 2026 MacArthur Fellowships, known as the “genius grants.”
Felipe De Brigard ’07 (MA), ’11 (PhD) and Elizabeth Ellis ’15 (PhD) were honored by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for their philosophy and history research, respectively.
De Brigard is a philosopher and cognitive scientist reshaping the understanding of the nature and function of memory. He integrates tools and frameworks from philosophy, psychology and neurosciences in theoretical and empirical investigations into how memory relates to other cognitive functions, such as causal and moral judgment, imagination and forgiveness.
Through his work, De Brigard has proposed that episodic memory is a constructive and imaginative process. He and collaborators are investigating the relationship between memory and forgiveness with victims of political violence in his native Colombia. De Brigard is a professor of philosophy at Duke University.
Ellis is a historian investigating indigenous politics and diplomacy in early North America. Her research sheds light on different strategies Native nations used to maintain their livelihoods and wield influence among European settlers. Ellis’ portrait of alternative conceptions of nationhood among small indigenous tribes offers a corrective to colonial histories emphasizing war and subjugation of Native Americans. The work provides key historical evidence for their ongoing efforts to gain federal recognition.
Ellis, an associate professor in Princeton University’s history department, is also involved in community-engaged projects focused on indigenous histories before Europeans’ arrival.
The MacArthur Fellowship is awarded to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality and dedication to their creative pursuits. Nominated anonymously by leaders in their fields and considered by an anonymous selection committee, recipients learn of their selection only when they receive a call from the MacArthur Foundation, just before the public announcement.
Fellows receive $800,000 stipends paid over five years, with no conditions.
Several Carolina faculty and staff members have won MacArthur Fellowships in recent years. Nabarun Dasgupta, health scientist at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, was a recipient in 2025 for his work to prevent drug overdose deaths. He followed Tressie McMillan Cottom, professor in the UNC School of Data and Information Sciences (2020) and former Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz, then Kenan Distinguished Professor of Exercise and Sport Science (2011).
