CARTA Fellowship Program

History of the Annette Merle-Smith Fellowships and CARTA Fellowships in Anthropogeny

Graduate students complementing a traditional degree with a Specialization in Anthropogeny gain valuable training in trans-disciplinary research spanning sciences and humanities. Such skill and qualification greatly benefit students as they embark on future careers in both public and private sectors, where the ability to mediate between different types of knowledge bases is becoming increasingly important.

Annette Merle-Smith Fellowships

Established in 2015, thanks to a generous gift from long-time CARTA supporter, Annette Merle-Smith, this award is given to students who have performed at the highest level in the Graduate Specialization in Anthropogeny, a three-year program offered by the Faculty of Anthropogeny through CARTA to UC San Diego graduate students from a variety of participating UC San Diego Ph.D. programs. Students enrolled in the program are required to complete the curriculum of elective courses on Anthropogeny (explaining the origin of our species), participate in CARTA’s scientific symposia and ensuing discussions, network with researchers from around the world, and cross-train with peers from a variety of disciplines.

Annette Merle-Smith has been supporting CARTA from the beginning, lending her generosity first to CARTA’s symposia, then to its Museum of Primatology, and now to the Specialization Track in Anthropogeny. She remarked that she is particularly pleased to support the graduate students in the Anthropogeny program, knowing the value and impact this trans-disciplinary education has not only on their research and future career but also on their outlook on life.

2022-2023 Annette Merle-Smith Fellows:

• Meghan Rossi from Neurosciences
• Matthew Zaslansky from Linguistics

2022-2023 CARTA Fellows:

• Felix Binder from Cognitive Science (renewal)
• Stefanie Holden from Psychology (new)
• Nicholas Nelson from Biological Sciences (new)
• Hande Sever from Visual Arts (new)
• Katie Van Alstyne from Psychology (new)

Past Fellows:

• Jason Adams from Neurosciences
• Julia Adrian from Cognitive Science
• Tanushree Agrawal from Psychology (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2021-22)
• Vanessa Bateman from Visual Arts
• Melanie Beasley from Anthropology
• Emily Bovino from Visual Arts
• Ben Cipollini from Cognitive Science
• Leela Davies from Biomedical Science
• Emily Davis from Linguistics
• Whitney Friedman from Cognitive Science (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2015-16)
• Sara Goico from Anthropology
• Kiri Hagerman from Anthropology
• Kari Hanson from Anthropology
• Caroline Horton from Anthropology
• Jeremy Karnowski from Cognitive Science
• Stephan Kaufhold from Cognitive Science (2020-21 Annette Merle-Smith Fellow)
• Nico King from Visual Arts (2020-21 Annette Merle-Smith Fellow)
• Landon Klein from Neurosciences (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2017-18)
• Emily Little from Psychology
• James Michaelov from Cognitive Science (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2021-22)
• Hope Morgan from Linguistics
• Corinna Most from Anthropology
• Sascha Pohflepp from Visual Arts (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2017-18)
• Catie Profaci from Neurosciences (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2018-19)
• Sequoyah Reynoso from Neurosciences (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2016-17)
• Tim Sainburg from Psychology (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2019-20)
• Andrew Schork from Cognitive Science (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2015-16)
• Arturs Semenuks from Cognitive Science (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2019-20)
• Nina Semushina from Linguistics (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2019-20)
• Heidi Sharipov from Neurosciences
• Camille Toarmino from Psychology (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2016-17)
• Michael Vaill from Biomedical Sciences
• Linnea Wilder from Anthropology (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2018-19)
• Haleh Yazdi from Psychology (Annette Merle-Smith Fellow 2017-18)
• Anne Yilmaz from Psychology
• Rachel Zarndt from Biomedical Sciences

Please join us in congratulating our Fellows on this achievement. Each Fellowship covers partial stipend and tuition for one year. Assuming good performance by the students and future funding, each Fellow will be considered for renewal (maximum of 3 years of support).