From studies of religion and the ancient world to innovations in disease treatment and mathematics, the newest class of Hallman Fellows are working to make a difference in the world.
“I always find it uplifting to see the breadth of expertise among our new faculty members and the groundbreaking work they are already conducting,” said Phil Kass, vice provost of Academic Affairs, which administers the Hellman Fellows program at UC Davis. “I am honored that we can help elevate their work further.”
Nine faculty members have been added to the Hellman Society for 2026-27, and will receive grants ranging from $18,000 to $50,000, for a total of $295,000 awarded. The timing of the money is important — the program is designed to help researchers who are early in their careers, when initial funding is drying up but before new sources of support may have been identified.
Hellman history
San Francisco philanthropists Chris and Warren Hellman started the program in 1995, when their daughter Frances Hellman, then a recently tenured professor at UC San Diego, “observed that while young faculty were well-funded when first hired, challenges would arise after two to three years when start-up resources were exhausted and before other external support was viable,” according to the foundation’s website. “The Hellman family filled this need by providing financial awards for early-stage researchers.”
The program was launched at UC San Diego and UC Berkeley, and eventually expanded to all 10 UC campuses, including UC Davis in 2008.
In 2020 the Hellman family provided endowments to each UC campus — $6 million to UC Davis — to continue the awards in perpetuity, through each campus’s Society of Hellman Fellows. The Hellmans also intended their endowments to encourage others to contribute to the societies. For more information on donating to the UC Davis society, contact Jennifer Prahl, senior director of foundation engagement, Office of Development and Alumni Relations, by email or at 530-752-1282.
More information on the fellowship is available on the Academic Affairs website.
The 2026-27 fellows
This year’s inductees to the UC Davis Society of Hellman Fellows, and their funded projects, are:
- Shirley Ahn, Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering: “Targeting Tuberculosis: Structure-Based Drug Discovery for Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria”
- Casey De Finnda, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering: “Beyond Zero Liquid Discharge: 3D-Printed Ceramic Spheres for Affordable Brine Management and Clean Salt Production”
- Lynna Dhanani, Department of Religion, Culture and Society, College of Letters and Science: “The Multilingual World of Praise: Book Project Completion”
- Fidencio Fifield-Perez, Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program, College of Letters and Science: Research support towards solo and group exhibitions
- Bianca Hand, Department of Classics, College of Letters and Science: “Carved in Contrast: The Role of Alterity in Neo-Assyrian Visual Culture (912-609 BCE)”
- Elizabeth Neumann, Department of Chemistry, College of Letters and Science: “Understanding Effects of Plastics using Spatial Multiomics”
- Cindy Ok, Department of English, College of Letters and Science: “Ghost Hemorrhage”
- Kayleigh Perkov, Department of Science and Technology Studies, College of Letters and Science: “Making Technology Artisanal”
- Melissa Sherman-Bennett, Department of Mathematics, College of Letters and Science: “Incidence Geometry, Particle Scattering and Polyhedral Decompositions”
Media Resources
Cody Kitaura is the editor of Dateline UC Davis and can be reached by email or at 530-752-1932.